


everything I try to do (nothing seems to turn out right)

by Rose1832



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, High School, M/M, Modern Era, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-05-14 08:57:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 28,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14766507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose1832/pseuds/Rose1832
Summary: High School AU.Yugi has no idea who the mysterious, unfairly attractive boy is that he keeps running into. He just wishes, for once, that he could get the timing right.





	1. and so, they meet

“The Silk Roads were indeed key to the development of ancient societies. They were the hub of culture and trade between the northernmost points of Africa and the Asian and European continents-”

_ Crunch. _

“As a matter of fact, these roads were not only responsible for the trade of spices and silks, but were also the keystone of the spread of Hinduism and even Buddhism throughout Asia and Africa-”

_ CRUNCH. _

“Eventually these roads would lead to the rise of Christianity, though this model of Christianity was far different from-”

_ CRRRRRUNCH. _

_ “Joseph Wheeler!” _

“Ehh?” Joey paused, a fist of potato chips halfway to his open mouth. Beside him, Yugi stifled a giggle into his hand.

“Don’t  _ ehh  _ me, young man,” snapped the stout woman at the head of the room, threateningly brandishing a laser pointer in the boy’s direction. “You know we have a strict no-food policy in this classroom!” This time a few more giggles rippled through the classroom, mostly from students looking for any excuse to pay less attention to the Ancient World History lecture on the development of the Chinese economic system. Yugi actually thought it was pretty interesting.

Not everyone seemed to share this opinion.

“Awh, c’mon, Mizz P!” Protested Joey, still holding the chips in a half-raised fist like a noncommittal rally cry. “I’m hungry! Lunch isn’t for another hour!”

“Then you shouldn’t have slept through breakfast  _ and all of first period,  _ Joseph. Detention! And put those chips away or they’ll become mine!”

Joey pouted, slumping back into his chair and shoving the plastic bag down to the bottom of his backpack. Yugi caught his eye and shot him a sympathetic smile, lifting a shoulder lightly as if to say,  _ What can you do? _

Joey’s pout deepened. Yugi bit back a snort, hiding his smile by turning back to the front of the room.

“As I was saying,” continued the professor, “the Silk Roads were a turning point in the rate at which ancient societies developed-”

 

“I don’t get it!” Joey threw his hands up in defeat. “I’m tellin’ you guys, that teacher has something out for me!  She knows if I get one more detention, Coach won’t let me play in the homecoming game. I swear, she’s tryin’ to screw me over.” The lunch hour had started, and the outdoor courtyard was buzzing with conversation as students excitedly chattered about their first week of classes. The four friends had appropriated their own corner of grass under the spotty shade of a maple tree, away from the other cliques that had loudly asserted their own territories in the pavilion. It was the same spot they’d taken last year as juniors. That was the perk of being a small group that didn’t enjoy the company of most of the rest of the student body: They had their spot, and everyone else had everywhere else. It was a mutually beneficial relationship.

Yugi leaned back on his palms, turning his face up to the cloudless blue sky. He always enjoyed the last warm days of the season, especially with the serenity that came with the company of his friends.

“Duh, Joey, of course she knows. Maybe she’s trying to help the team.”

“The FUCK did you just say to me, TRISTAN?”

His loud, ridiculous friends.

“Well, Joey,” Tea offered as she popped a grape into her mouth, “Look on the bright side. If you don’t play the homecoming game, at least you’ll have time to study for that test next week.”

“Awh dammit, you’re right! What kinda teacher has a test in the first two weeks of class?” He pointed a victorious finger into the air. “Proof! Proof that that woman is insane!”

Tea shushed him aggressively, looking up over his head as if checking for spies. “Joey, you dumbass, someone could hear you!”

“Oh, right, yeah-” Joey took a large bite out of a sandwich and continued, “Mmph- fo, fhe’s dryanna make me loo’ li’  _ I’m _ infane-”

“Oh my god, close your mouth, you  _ animal- _ ”

“Oh yeah? Lookit this!”

“Joey _ oh my god _ , close your mouth, that’s  _ disgusting- _ ”

Yuugi laughed, shrugging off his jacket and spreading it in the grass like a blanket. He flopped back, stretching his legs out, and smiled up at Tea as she tugged a whining Joey’s ear aggressively, scolding him about manners and politeness like a mom from the fifties with a disobedient son. His friends might have been the loudest, most rambunctious people he knew, but without them his life would have been a thousand times less colorful.

“Did you ever even  _ learn _ manners?”

“Fuck you!”

_ Less colorful in a lot of ways, _ he thought to himself.

“Hey, Yugi,” Tristan cut in from beside him, “Don’t you have a lunch today?”

Joey and Tea paused in their argument to look over, having apparently not come to the same realization. “Hey, yeah,” Joey started, “Where’s your food, bud?”

“Oh, yeah,” Yugi sat up, scratching the back of his neck guiltily. “I stayed up last night trying to solve that puzzle Grandpa gave me a little while ago. I was exhausted this morning, so I woke up ten minutes before I had to leave and I only barely had enough time to eat breakfast before I had to catch the bus. But I’m fine!” He added quickly, seeing the concern on his friends’ faces. “Grandpa lent me a few bucks this morning so I could grab something on my way home.”

“If you say so, pal,” Joey shrugged, turning back to rummage through his brown paper bag. “That puzzle again? The gold triangle one? Why are ya so set on that one in particular? I thought you had, like, a billion others!”

“First of all, stupid, it’s a  _ pyramid, _ ” explained Tea with an exasperated roll of her eyes. “Second, why wouldn’t he be? That puzzle was excavated in Egypt and hasn’t been solved in millennia. It’d be so cool if he could figure it out! If anyone could, it’d be Yugi. Yugi is to puzzles like...I dunno. Like Tristan is to motorcycles. He’s never come across one he couldn’t take apart and put back together blindfolded after only solving it once.”

Yugi blushed at the comment, smiling brightly. “That’s just it, Tea! I can’t help but feel like I’m super close. But there’s one problem,” he added, the smile dashing from his features, “I think I’m missing a piece. Grandpa swears up and down that every piece that was found in the excavation site was handed to me in the puzzle box, but the more I look at it, I think the piece that should go right in the middle isn’t there.”

“Oh, man, that’s rough,” Tristan’s brows raised in awe. “What’ll you do if you can’t find the last piece?

Yugi hummed, picking at a blade of grass that had been tickling his arm. “Well, Grandpa said there are shops and things that would be willing to make a plastic replica of what the piece should have looked like. He said it’s normally pretty expensive, but since this is an ancient Egyptian artifact I might be able to get some donations from museums to help out. Especially ones connected to research facilities. Think like a locksmith, only, for super old stuff.”

“Oh, cool!” Joey grinned. “So no matter what, you’ll get to have the finished thing?”

“Yeah!” Yugi nodded enthusiastically. “It’d be nice to have the complete puzzle with all of the original pieces, but Grandpa said the center piece might have been taken by a thief or something. Which I guess is also really cool, even if it does make things a bit harder. It just means that my puzzle has seen a lot of history, right? In the meantime, I think I’m gonna start on the thousand-piece puzzle Tea got me for Christmas last year. The one with the otters in the pond.” At this, Tea beamed.

“You and those puzzles,” Tristan shook his head. “I don’t get the appeal of putting yourself through hours of frustration just for a picture. Can’t you just Google some cute otters and get the same thing?”

“It’s a smart people thing,” Tea teased, lightly punching Tristan on the shoulder. “I guess you just wouldn’t get it.”

“HEY!”

Everyone’s laughter was cut off by an electronic bell sound ringing across the courtyard; three monotone beeps signaling the end of the hour..

“Ah, damn,” Joey sighed, crumpling his empty lunch sack and taking a final swig from a Coke can. “Off to an hour of the only thing more boring than history.  _ Literature,”  _ he spat out with a grimace. “Hey, Yugi, are you sure you’re not gonna starve?”

“Nah,” Yugi smiled, standing up and brushing off the back of his jacket. “The day’s over in two hours anyway. I’m sure I’ll live. Ready for math, Tea?”

Tea shook her head. “I don’t know how you can be so happy about precalc, Yugi. It must be that nerdy puzzle brain of yours.”

Yugi giggled, hanging his jacket over his shoulder as he turned back towards the cafeteria doors, which now looked more like broken floodgates with the crowd of students all trying to force their way in at once. “This nerd puzzle brain is about to kick a quiz review’s ass.”

 

Yugi’s last class of the day, History of English, would have put even Tea to sleep. The professor was an old, round man with a kind chuckle and a bushy mustache that made up for the absence of his hair on his head, though his voice was surprisingly monotone. Had it been any other subject Yugi might have found it hard to keep his eyes open, but he had always found history subjects more thrilling than anything else. It was like the greatest story ever told, and there was always another aspect of it to learn about. Since the eighth grade, when asked what he wanted to do after school, he’d always said he wanted something to do with history. He had no clue what or why or when, but that was always something he was sure of.

Yugi had found out through some internet forums in his middle school years that every History Kid had a time period that they latched onto like a baby to a bottle. For Yugi, that was ancient Egypt, although anything in the ancient world was oddly fascinating to him. He couldn’t help it- ancient societies were so similar to the modern day, it was like learning about a parallel universe. Egypt in particular was one he loved to fantasize about. His grandpa had gone on a research exhibition to Egypt when Yugi was young and come back with all kinds of pictures and stories, including his puzzle. Now, whenever Yugi spent those late nights fiddling with the pieces to try to make them fit together, all he could think about were the other pairs of hands that had touched it’s golden surface as well: The lives they’d lived, the things they’d said, the friendships they’d forged.

The language aspect only made it more interesting. Yugi tapped the end of his pencil eagerly against his notebook, waiting for the teacher to move to the next slide. He had long since copied down the table depicting how ancient Sanskrit had evolved into the modern English alphabet, and now wanted to hear about the next part- Hieroglyphs and pictographs, and how they were used by Egyptian upper classes.

“Now,” the professor was saying to a class that was half-full and half-asleep, “Sanskrit was a well-developed method of writing, but the letters of this alphabet were used to give a vernacular language a written form. This was the language of the lower classes- those who weren’t educated in the way the higher classes spoke. The language of royalty was depicted-”

Just before the slide turned, the intercom beeped loudly, making the entire class jump. Three desks behind Yugi, a boy who had been sleeping on his jacket fell out of his desk.

“YUGI MOTO. PLEASE REPORT TO THE OFFICE TO PICK UP A PACKAGE. I REPEAT, PACKAGE FOR YUGI MOTO IN THE OFFICE.”

Yugi looked up in surprise as all eyes turned to him. He couldn’t think of what that package could be, and he definitely hadn’t been planning on missing the second half of the lecture. He glanced over at the professor, who had paused momentarily and was now looking over at him curiously.

“Well,” decided the man, smiling kindly, “Looks like they need you more than I do! I’ll let you take a picture of the next few slides before the day is over.” He shot Yugi a wink. Although the school year was still young, Yugi felt they’d formed an unspoken connection that Yugi was the most interested and dedicated student in the class. It helped that he was probably the only one who had chosen the class as an elective, unlike most other students who were thrown in because Floral Design and Autoshop were full. “Better go on before someone else tries to take it!”

Yugi nodded gratefully, hurrying out of his seat to grab a hall pass. As sorry as he was to miss such an engaging lecture, he was curious above anything as to what his package might be.

 

As soon as he opened the office door, he knew exactly what the package was.

“Ah, Yugi!” Greeted the beaming, wrinkled face his grandfather, who by the relieved look on the office attendant’s face had been up to his flirting antics again. 

“Grandpa?” Yugi couldn’t hide the surprise in his voice. “What are you doing at school? Shouldn’t you be back at the store?”

“Things were slow at the shop this morning, so I figured I would bring you that lunch you forgot! I sure hope I’m in time!” The small round man proudly thrust a brown paper sack in Yugi’s face, not unlike the one Joey had used earlier. Yugi felt his face flush bright red. Grandpa hadn’t just packed him a lunch. He’d also decorated the bag.

“Do you like what I wrote?” His grandpa was grinning ear-to-ear now, and Yugi wanted nothing more than to hide his face in embarrassment. Printed on the bag in big, bold Sharpie letters were the words “YUGI- YOUR GRANDPA LOVES YOU! HUGS AND SMOOCHES FROM THE DARK MAGICIAN GIRL!” WIth a corny drawing of a girl in a pointy hat and short skirt, brandishing a staff. By the quiet giggles and not-so-subtle glances the office ladies were sending his direction, he could only imagine what his grandpa might have said before he’d arrived.

“Grandpa,” Yugi started awkwardly, not wanting to hurt his grandpa’s feelings, “This is really, really nice, but lunch ended over an hour ago. School gets out in-” he glanced over his shoulder at the mounted analog wall clock above the door. “Thirty minutes!”

“What?” Grandpa pulled the bag away from Yugi’s face and scratched his head in confusion. “But I could have sworn you were in school until four!”

“That was back in Kindergarden, grandpa,” Yugi sighed, knowing his face must have been glowing by now. The office ladies giggled again. “I’m in high school now.”

“Hmm, no kidding! Well, I suppose by now I really  _ am _ getting old.” Grandpa had more to say, but at that moment the door to the office opened yet again. Yugi turned out of curiosity.

He immediately lost track of whatever Grandpa was saying.

The boy who walked into the office was confident, well-dressed, and very,  _ very  _ handsome. Yugi suddenly became hyper-aware of his own outfit; a leather jacket two sizes too big that had once been his Grandpa’s and now swallowed him whole, an old band shirt that had faded a long time ago, dark jeans with holes in the knees that weren’t exactly intentional and sneakers he’d kept since his eighth grade growth spurt. Yugi suddenly realized he must have looked like a dorky middle schooler trying to pull off the “punk” look. It didn’t help that he was wearing a  _ choker _ . Were chokers cool? Right now, he had no idea.

This boy, this mystery who had swept into the office like some kind of  _ king,  _ somehow made dark skinny jeans and a loose muscle shirt look like he was dressed to the nines. Yugi personally felt that it was a little unfair: This person, whoever he was, could wear a belt chain and have it  _ not  _ look stupid, and  _ still  _ had the audacity to walk around making a bulky chain necklace and leather cuff-bracelets look  _ good. _ But that wasn’t even half of Yugi’s issue- this boy also had an incredibly handsome face, with a deep-cut jawline and sharp features that looked a lot like the Greek statues his history professor had pictures of around the room.

The strangest part had to be the hair. Yugi, without thinking about it, lifted a hand to brush through his own (over-gelled,  _ why did he use so much gel this morning _ ) locks which looked remarkably like this mystery boy’s. They both at least had a very similar dye job. In fact, had the boy’s skin been a deep, tan color, he might’ve looked like Yugi from a universe where he was...well,  _ something _ . Cool. Capable. Sexy-

Yugi wasn’t exactly focused on thinking at the moment. He wasn’t even sure he’d be able to. Actually, his brain seemed to only be able to think the words “ _ oh shit oh shit oh shit _ ” in the face of this really,  _ unfairly  _ attractive new arrival.

“Say, Yugi,” Grandpa was saying, suddenly louder than Yugi remembered him being when they’d started their conversation, "I made sure to cut the crusts off of your sandwich like you like. I even wrote a note on your napkin, just to make sure-”

“Okay, thank you grandpa!” Yugi blurted, snatching the bag from his grandfather’s hands. Grandpa beamed and Yugi found himself glancing frantically at the new boy, desperately willing him not to have heard anything of Yugi’s embarrassing situation.

The boy, currently facing the desk and looking back over one shoulder, met his eyes.

Mystery Boy smiled.

Yugi gulped.

“Well, Grandpa, I should really get going back to class,” Yugi hurriedly continued before his grandpa could say anything else that might have revealed Yugi to be a complete dork in front of this stupidly hot stranger. Yugi firmly believed that the person he dated in the future should get to know and love all of his sides; even the dorky ones. That being said, he wasn’t about to let that happen right now. “Thank you for bringing me this, but I really need to get going-”

“Eager to leave your old grandpa so soon, Yugi?” Grandpa shook his head. “You know, you were in such a rush this morning that you forgot to give your grandpa a kiss goodbye. You youngsters are so focused on your games and your dating that you always forget to appreciate the ones who raised you. But you most certainly didn’t forget to give one to your wall poster-”

Yugi winced, dreading what the Mystery Hot Guy must think of him right now. As if it wasn’t enough that Grandpa had outed Yugi as a massive nerd with no romantic life whatsoever, now he looked like a grandpa-hater. “No, Grandpa, it’s not that-”

“No, no, go on, Yugi! Leave your grandfather who came all this way to see you!”

Yugi sighed in defeat, then leaned in and gave his grandfather a very quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you at home, grandpa. I love you.”

Grandpa nodded his approval. “There. Was that so hard?”

Yugi groaned internally. Behind the desk, the office ladies giggled to themselves a third time, though this time he could hear a low baritone chuckle under all the chatter. Behind him, the office door opened and closed. The Mystery Boy was gone, just like that. Now this incredibly hot stranger knew Yugi was a closet nerd who still slept next to a poster of a fictional character, and Yugi never even had so much as  a name. He wanted to  _ die. _ “I’ll see you later, grandpa.”

“See you at home, Yugi. Say, that boy was rather handsome, wasn’t he?”

If Yugi was blushing before, he was a firetruck now. He nodded weakly and left, wringing the now incredibly wrinkled ( _ too  _ wrinkled; had he been twisting it the whole time?) paper bag between his hands. He hadn’t seen which direction the boy had gone. Maybe, after everything that had happened, it was for the better.

As Yugi made his way back to class, his eyes  _ totally didn’t  _ glance (and maybe linger every now and then) over every classroom window. He told himself it was just passive curiosity. Why would he be looking for any signs of hair that looked like his own? That would be a ridiculous thing to do. Hot Stranger probably had a girlfriend. He probably had six. Maybe they were all boyfriends; Yugi wouldn’t judge. He was probably a total jerk, who liked...jerk things. Yugi repeated this to himself every time he walked by a different classroom, all the way back to room 204.

Back in class, his History of Language professor was going over the origins of specific hieroglyphs and their relations to Egyptian culture.

Yugi couldn’t focus on a word of it.


	2. crash course

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugi has no clue what Mystery Office Hot Guy's real name is, nor whether he actually attends classes at the same school, and at this point he's not sure whether or not he even actually exists.  
> But by god, he's determined to find out.

Although Yugi had looked every which way on the walk home, he hadn’t seen so much as a glimpse of the Mystery Hot Guy. He’d tried, he really had- he’d even come close to breaking his neck a few times trying to swivel to get a glimpse of the driver of a passing car, and more than once Tristan had had to grab him by the shirt collar so he didn’t faceplant into the road.

“Hell, Yugi,” Tristan had sighed after the second time. “What’s gotten into you? Your body’s down here, but where’s your brain? Outer space?”

Yugi had laughed awkwardly, not wanting to explain that he’d almost killed himself six times now trying to spot a guy whose name he didn’t even know. For all Yugi knew, the boy had been a hallucination. Yugi had been going to school long enough to know there was apparently all of one kid in the school district (and probably the world, if he was honest with himself) with his hairstyle, and that kid was  _ him _ . He’d never heard of anyone who had even remotely similar hair colors, much less anyone who  _ spiked  _ their hair the way he did. Either someone had ripped off his style without telling him (and, okay, if anyone was allowed to do that it would be the Mystery Boy, but still) or after three years of being stuck in high school, he’d finally snapped.

“I guess I’m more exhausted than I thought I was,” he had offered meekly, shoving his hands into his jean pockets and shrugging apologetically. He hadn’t felt like telling his friends about the Mystery Hot Guy; not when it was pretty likely the only name he’d ever get was “Mystery Hot Guy”. Yugi had a personal rule about not revealing himself to be a completely hopeless romantic, although his personal rule about not revealing himself to be a complete and total dork apparently didn’t apply anymore anyway. Besides, it wasn’t worth getting his friends excited over.

Especially when two of his friends didn’t even know men were his interest area.

Tea had  _ tsked _ at him. Actually  _ tsked.  _ She’d even wagged a finger, because that was just Tea. “Yugi, you really should have eaten something before you left school. That’s probably why you can’t keep your balance! If you starve to death on the way home, I’ll do a seance and bring you back just to tell you how ridiculous that was.”

“Now, hang on, Tea,” Joey had announced from the head of the group as they made their way along a busy road, “I think there’s an easy solution here.”

Joey had stopped dead in his tracks, turning to face the rest of the group. Then, with all the seriousness of a lawyer, he’d pointed at the building to their right.

A large, almost ominous-looking caricature of a hamburger leered down at them from a flickering sign overhead.

“Wh-  _ Joey _ !” Tea had looked around incredulously, realizing just then that they’d been following Joey’s lead without even thinking as they’d fallen into conversation. “ _ Burger Palace! _ ? You told us you were going to take us a back way home!”

“Yeah!” Joey had grinned proudly, placing his fists on his hips and puffing out his chest like a fifth grader looking for approval. “We cross 23rd and we’re only half a mile away from Yugi’s game shop! See? We’re practically on the front doorstep as it is. This is just the way that takes us by the good stuff!”

“Half a mile!?  _ Joseph Wheeler, you insufferable-” _

But then Yugi’s stomach had let out a loud grumble and Tristan had sheepishly agreed that a milkshake and fries was sounding really good, and Tea had been forced to cave in as she realized she was outvoted three-to-one.

For the first ten minutes as they sat in the restaurant Yugi found himself jumping at every glimpse of a dark head of hair. But as the conversation picked up, he had found himself getting caught up in a heated debate about the moral code to putting mayonnaise on food (Joey insisted it belonged exclusively on sandwiches, but Yugi actually didn’t mind it with fries) and soon, he’d forgotten about the previous events of the day. By the time they’d left the restaurant, the Mystery Boy was completely off of Yugi’s mind.

 

“Jeezus, Yug,” Joey let out a low whistle, almost sounding impressed as Yugi slouched into second period the following morning, yet again yawning and stretching and looking around the classroom with bags so deep under his eyes he might’ve been distantly related to a  raccoon. “I thought you said you were gonna try to go for  _ more  _ sleep, not less, man. Tell me you at least have a lunch today, or I think Tea’s gonna burst a blood vessel.”

Yugi had pulled a similar stunt this morning as he had the previous day, waking up to his screaming alarm just before he had to be out the door. He had made the executive decision that breakfast was less important than not missing the bus, and had stumbled out of bed into a pair of faded jeans and an old John Lennon tee shirt before practically falling down the stairs in his rush to get out the door. This time, he had made sure to tell Grandpa that yes, he  _ did  _ have a lunch (which was the lunch Grandpa had packed him yesterday that was now definitely squished at the bottom of his bag, but the only person who needed to know that was Yugi) and no, he  _ definitely  _ didn’t need Grandpa to wait for him at the bus stop after school. 

Again.

He’d stumbled out the door, still struggling to pull an army-green denim jacket over his shoulders, clenching his phone between his teeth from where he’d had it in his hand just moments before.

He had to run back for his backpack.

And then again for his shoes.

On the bright side, he’d put more of that pyramid puzzle together.

“Yug, ol’ buddy ol’ pal, you look like the dead. And I don’t mean the recently dead, either. We’re talkin’ Walking Dead, here. Dead-comma- _ Night of the Living  _ type deal.” Yugi rolled his eyes. “Should you even be at school today?” Joey, despite being scolded in class the previous day, pulled a potato chip out of a Lays bag and bit it in half. Although the classroom food policy was no-food, the Joey food policy was “whatever food you can get away with”. Class hadn’t technically started, so he couldn’t  _ techinically _ get in trouble. And by the way the teacher was eyeing the two from the front of the room as she straightened her desk papers into intimidatingly neat piles, Yugi had a feeling Joey had pointed this loophole out shortly before he’d walked in.

“Nah,” Yugi waved him off, letting out another yawn as he sat down. “I feel fine! I’ll just take a nap laaaa-” he yawned again, pawing at the tears of exhaustion  that welled up in his eyes. “-ter,” he finished lamely, knowing he wasn’t helping his point. Joey snorted and shook his head in disbelief.

“Was it that puzzle again? I thought you said you were missin’ a piece,” Joey pointed out, finishing off the rest of the potato chip with a loud  _ ktch  _ and pulling out two more. “Shouldn’t ya be waiting to work on that one until you find it? What about that otter puzzle?”

“I know, I know,” Yugi waved a vague hand and let out a low groan as he scrubbed a hand over his face. “But I first have to figure out what the piece looks like. Otherwise, I won’t be able to tell someone how to replicate it. And I think I’m  _ really  _ close,” he continued, hitting his fist on the desk in determination, “but it’s such an odd thing to figure out. See,” he explained, brain starting to boot up at the promise of talking about puzzles, “it would be easier if this were one of the flat ones- y’know, where you’re just putting together a picture? Then, I could just put all the other pieces in and figure out which part of the picture was missing. But this one’s way more complicated than that.” Yugi gave up on trying to hold himself upright and instead let his forehead fall onto his desk with a defeated  _ thunk.  _ Joey gave him a hearty, sympathetic pat on the shoulder as Yugi continued, feeling his breath condense on the desk as he talked. Part of him was starting to regret having not brushed his teeth that morning.

“Those Egyptian pharaohs really must have wanted to make this one difficult; not only is it a 3D figure, but these pieces are ridiculous. Some have curves, some have edges, and some-” he cut himself off with another yawn, turning to look at Joey with exhausted eyes by laying on his cheek instead of his face. “Some don’t even look like they’ll fit. It’s crazy! It really doesn’t help that the piece I’m missing is on the inside.” A frustrated pout pulled over his features. Joey suddenly understood the whole “baby panda” thing Tea always talked about, especially with the dark circles under his eyes. “I’m trying to sketch it out, but it doesn’t help if I can barely see where the missing piece should go.”

“Damn,” Joey nodded sympathetically. “Well, wish I could help you out, man. But that’s some advanced shit right there. That’s, like. Three times the level of brainpower I try to shoot for on a given day.”

Yugi chuckled. “I know. I’ll get it eventually. I just gotta keep trying, that’s all.” He held a fist by his mouth to shield another yawn, forcing himself to sit up straight. “At least I have class to keep me awake.”

“Yugi, my dude,” Joey held his hands up in a show of respect, “you are by far the only person I know who could be kept awake by-” he glanced at the board- “‘The Political, Economic, and Socio-Economic Development of China During the Qin Dynasty.’ Seriously, man. I don’t even know what that  _ is.” _

“Well, Mister Wheeler,” huffed the teacher victoriously from the front of the room, standing with her hands flat on her desk and looking remarkably vulture-esque, “If you would be so kind as to pay attention for once, you’ll find that I’m about to tell you.”

Joey flushed red and scrambled to sit upright. Yugi chuckled, breaking off into yet another yawn that had floated up from his chest without his realizing. He still thought Joey was crazy, but he was starting to see what he meant when he was talking about the teacher being “out to get him”. Joey didn’t usually make enemies with all his teachers until at least the third week of classes.

Feeling like a fog was setting over his brain, Yugi glanced at the clock. 10:31. He inhaled deeply and shook his head to clear it, blinking rapidly a few times until his tired eyes finally focused on the board. A ClipArt image of the Chinese flag glared bold red back at him.

Yugi picked up his mechanical pencil and opened his notebook to the next blank page. As engaging as this lecture was, he still found himself struggling to keep his eyes open. Unless the rest of his classes were this interesting, he really had no idea how he was going to stay awake for the rest of the school day.

 

As it turned out, Yugi had no reason to worry. After an in-depth lecture on the relevance of the Qin governmental system to the ultimate unification of China, he’d chatted happily with Tea at lunch about his puzzle, recounting to her and Tristan what he’d explained to Joey less than an hour before. Tea, as expected, had let out a very maternal-sounding sigh in his direction to let him know how disappointed she was in his ability to take care of himself, but had let up after he’d told her he’d at least found the time to build the frame for her otter puzzle when he’d needed a mental break from his pyramid. She’d clapped delightedly and hounded him with questions about how he liked it, which he’d responded to as best he could without having actually looked at the picture since he’d opened the box. Then, Yugi had pulled out the battered but resilient brown bag that Grandpa had decorated in Sharpie the day before, and had sparked an entirely new branch of conversation that mostly involved poking fun at Yugi.

“I love your grandpa,” Tea had giggled. “Did he do  _ the usual? _ ”

“You mean, did he draw  _ this _ on my napkin again?” Yugi had sighed, brandishing an unfolded paper napkin with a scantily-clad cartoon witch roughly sketched in blue Sharpie. “How does he expect me to wipe my mouth with this? I have  _ morals. _ ”

“I dunno Yug,” Joey had leered at him, “ _ I  _ for one would have  _ no  _ trouble using that to wipe my  _ HEY, TEA, OW OW OW- _ ”

“As I was saying, Yugi,” Tea continued calmly as she held the skin of Joey’s arm in a rather aggressive Indian burn, “Your grandpa is a really charming and lovely man.” Tristan snickered at Joey’s pained expression. Yugi rolled his eyes, unable to keep himself from smiling, too.

Lunch had rolled into an hour of parabolas which had all too quickly become a period of learning about the variations of Roman alphabetical characters and their origins. By the time the bell rang for the end of the day, Yugi had completely forgotten about his exhaustion and instead found himself practically jogging home from the bus stop, itching to start his newly-assigned essay on the different properties of linguistic characters in three separate branches of the language tree.

Really, it was chicken soup for his nerdy soul.

 

Yugi pushed through the door of the game shop eagerly, calling a quick “I’m home!” to his grandpa before racing up the stairs to his bedroom. From back downstairs, he could hear his grandfather call back something about at least having the time to say hello, but Yugi knew Grandpa Moto of all people didn’t care all that much. Yugi’s Grandpa had been the one to foster his interest in history, language, and puzzle-solving, and often joked about Yugi’s after-school routine being the result of the best parenting mistake anyone had ever made.

Yugi opened his bedroom door, threw his book bag down at the foot of his bed, and flopped into his desk chair excitedly. As he reached to open his small, school-issued laptop, something glinted just to the left of the screen.

The half-assembled pieces of a pyramid puzzle seemed in the hazy lighting of his window, which trickled in in from the overcast sky.

Yugi looked at the puzzle.

He looked at the laptop.

He looked back at the puzzle.

_ Five minutes,  _ he promised himself, knowing full well it would be much longer than that.

 

“Oh, come on, Yug,” Joey chastised as Yugi, for the third morning in a row, entered the classroom looking more like a slug than a person. “This is gettin’ outta hand! How much sleep have you even had in the past couple ‘a days?”

“Uhm,” Yugi offered, more falling into his chair than sitting in it. He tried to think of a response, but somehow numbers just weren’t happening in his brain.

His tired, tired brain.

“Hello, Yugi? Earth to Yugi? C’mon, man, perk up! Today’s a video day! You won’t wanna miss it, see? Teach is about to turn off the classroom lights!”

Oh god, today was going to be rough.

 

His suspicions were confirmed on the way to third period. On his way back inside from the lunchroom, pushing through bodies going every which way, Yugi practically had to shout to maintain his conversation with Tea over the noisy chatter of everyone else around them. Eventually, after he tried and horribly failed to recite the punchline of a joke three times over all the noise, he was eventually forced to wave a hand towards the nearing classroom door to signal to her,  _ I’ll tell you in a minute _ . She’d nodded in agreement and the two had fallen into silence as they continued the ongoing battle through the hallway.

That’s when he heard it.

Yugi wasn’t sure whether or not he was just delirious with exhaustion, and was more willing to accept that answer than to let himself get his hopes up, but he could have sworn that among all the jabber of students pushing and shoving their way to class, a low baritone laugh sounded like a thunder in a rainstorm, audible through all the chaos.

A familiar, all-too-familiar, Yugi-hadn’t-been-able-to-forget-about-it kind of low baritone laugh.

Yugi whirled around.

_ WHAM. _

Within the same second Yugi turned he found himself knocked flat on his back, nose throbbing painfully and lungs suddenly empty. He gasped in shock as all the air was pushed from his chest at once as he collided roughly with the ground.

“Yugi!” Tea yelped, dropping to his side, “Are you alright? What just happened? Let me help you go to the nurse-”

“Rgh- no, m’fine, Tea,” Yugi groaned, sitting up. “I must’ve bumped into someone.”

“I’ll say,” Tea sighed. “Only the biggest dude in our grade. And he didn’t even notice, that meatwall.” She helped Yugi sit up on his elbows. “I mean, come on, he could have at least said sorry. What were you even turning around for, anyway? Did you forget something back in the cafeteria?”

Yugi was about to answer when out of the corner of his eye he caught a hint, just the tiniest glimpse, of bright red hair retreating down the hallway. Black, but dyed around the edges. Yugi felt the air leave his lungs all over again.  _ No way. _

“Yugi? Hellooo? You didn’t get a concussion, did you?” A hand was waving in front of his face and he blinked. By the time Tea had lowered her hand, the beautiful, beautiful shoulders of Mystery Hot Guy had receded into the crowd. “Really, Yugi, I think you should go to the nurse. Can you even see my hand?”

“Huh? Oh- yeah, no, I’m good.” Yugi tried not to let his disappointment show too much. He looked back between the dissipating shoulders of the parting crowd hopelessly, seeing nothing red, black, or striking yellow. He sighed in defeat and let Tea pull him up, insistently waving away her attempts to dust him off and do a thorough inspection for any cuts and bruises. She huffed and rolled her eyes, scolding him for being careless, but didn’t have much more time to get her complaint out before the late bell rang. Yugi and Tea both jumped at the sound and scrambled to stand up, once again hurrying towards the classroom door.

 

Sitting in his History of Language class, Yugi found himself yet again unable to concentrate. He badly wanted to; today’s lesson was an in-class worksheet that involved practicing drawing the evolution of Chinese characters from their pictograph origins, but three times he had to erase an entire line and once he’d spaced out entirely, forgetting to even fill in a column of boxes. For the life of him, he just couldn’t get that stranger off of his mind.

Lincoln-Douglas High was not a large school. In fact, Lincoln-Douglas High only existed because they’d had to combine two much smaller high schools into one due to budgeting issues six years ago; Abraham Lincoln High School and Stephen Douglas Senior High had become the LD Senior High School and, for some godforsaken reason,  _ Andrew Jackson Junior High.  _ Yugi wasn’t too keen on American history, but of all presidents to name a school after, he was pretty sure the raving lunatic racist murderer president probably shouldn’t have been one of them.

That being said, the Lincoln Douglas student count was nowhere above 800. Most of these 800 kids Yugi had had in one class or another throughout his elementary and middle school experience, and the rest of them he was probably neighbors with anyway. He didn’t now every name, but felt confident he’d come into contact with everyone in his grade at least once.

So why, then, did he have no clue who this  _ definitely _ memorable Mystery Guy was? He hadn’t gotten the chance to see Mystery Guy’s face properly, but he was certain he’d never seen anyone around who even looked remotely similar.

Yugi had tossed around some ideas. Exchange student, maybe. That was always a possibility. But this guy hadn’t looked Japanese, and that was where the exchange students were coming from this year, so Yugi brushed that idea off. He could have been new to the district, but then, why was nobody saying anything about it? Was this a school-wide conspiracy? Was he secretly on  _ Punk’d _ ? For all Yugi knew, he was actually in some Truman Show-style setup, and thousands of people at home were laughing at him. It made about as much sense as all of his other theories.

This kept Yugi’s mind occupied until a loud electronic bell rang through the classroom. Yugi jumped, unexpectedly pulled back to reality, then looked down guiltily at his half-finished worksheet. While the other students were getting up to hand in their papers Yugi quickly filled out the rest of the boxes, then awkwardly stuffed his pencils into the front pocket of his bag and moved to join the back of the line.

When he was the last person to slide his paper into the wire “Turn-In” basket on the wooden desk at the front of the room, his teacher quirked an eyebrow at him. Yugi knew he had seen how distracted Yugi had been during class and smiled apologetically, then turned and left the classroom briskly, only stopping to quickly shoulder his backpack with the single-minded goal of getting home. His mind was churning with a to-do list he hadn’t even started because of this mysterious character and he was determined to get out of his own head. That essay needed to be done soon, anyway, before he ran out of time to do it, and today was his turn to sweep the store, and he told his grandpa he would make dinner tonight-

“Yeah, dude! Guy’s hair was insane!”

Yugi’s brain and feet stopped dead in their tracks.

“It was like...spikey? And it was streaked, too, man, I didn’t even think it was real-”

Yugi told himself he was being ridiculous. This was completely insane. He looked around the hallway and yes, there, a group of sporty-looking boys in basketball shorts and backwards hats were talking over by the lockers. Surely they couldn’t mean-

“So he moved here from Egypt? Dude, that’s so cool!”

Yugi slipped out of the stream of the crowd and hoped he was being inconspicuous, positioning himself a few feet away against the lockers. He pulled out his phone and pretended to text, turning an ear towards the conversation.  _ Crazy,  _ he told himself.  _ I really need to get home, this isn’t important, they could be talking about anyone- _

“Yeah man! He’s got this kickass style, too, like punk. But he’s really cool.”

Yugi’s legs were starting to go numb and he had to remind himself to breathe, feeling his pulse racing at what had to be a thousand beats per minute.

“Actually, wait- there he is! Hey!”

Yugi whirled around, frantically scanning the hallway for any sign of the familiar hair. He looked back and forth, but couldn’t find anything. He stole a glance back at the group to find one of the boys, a skinnier guy with a basketball tucked under one arm, pointing directly at him.

Yugi’s heart sank. Had they somehow just been talking about him?

“Nah, dude, that’s just the guy who looks like him! The new dude is in my science class.”

“Yeah, man, that’s crazy. He’s your new lab partner, right? Didja get the guy’s name?”

“Oh, yeah, uhh,” Yugi couldn’t take this much longer. The anticipation and suspense were going to kill him. He was pretty sure he’d already missed the bus, but he didn’t care. He  _ needed  _ this answer.

“Oh, right! I remember. I think he said it was...”

“Hey, Yugi!” Came a soft voice from next to him. Yugi jumped so hard he slammed his head against the locker behind him with a loud  _ THUNK,  _ his heart missing at least three beats as his brain tried to catch up with what had happened.

“Oh goodness,” apologized the voice that Yugi now recognized had a vague English accent as he rubbed the back of his head with a groan. “Sorry, Yugi, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Yugi looked up and, as he suspected, Ryou Bakura smiled politely in front of him, beaming brightly when Yugi turned his way. “I just saw you looking rather lonely over here and wondered if you might be waiting for someone. I don’t usually see you here after the bus leaves.”

“Well, uhh…” Yugi looked back towards the group of athletes only to find they’d disbanded and had joined with the flow of students heading towards the exits. He sighed and instead forced a smile towards his friend, whose round eyes shone with curiosity in such a way that he looked more like a small animal than a young adult. “Nope! How’s it going, Ryou?”

“Oh, not much, is happening, really” shrugged the boy, pulling his long white hair over one shoulder out of the way of his backpack. His fingers, following what looked like a casual habit, began to twist his hair into a loose braid as he spoke, some odd strands falling around his face in a way most girls would probably have been jealous of. “I was just thinking of going by that new tea shop after class for some boba; I’ve grown quite fond of it lately and they’ve just opened a new caf é right near your grandpa’s game shop. Interested in joining me?” Ryou’s smile was soft and sweet, and Yugi immediately felt bad for being irritated at his arrival earlier. “It’s been quite a little while since we last hung out, hasn’t it?”

“Er- yeah,” Yugi straightened up a bit, shoving his phone into his back pocket.  _ Out of sight, out of mind.  _ “It  _ has _ been a while, now that you mention it. That sounds-” he caught himself glancing towards the retreating backs of the boys from earlier and shook himself. He really needed to get some fresh air. “That sounds really nice, Ryou. Thanks.”

If the boy’s smile had been bright before, now it was glowing like a brand new Christmas tree. Yugi thought distantly that Ryou would probably make a good cleric in any given roleplaying game, the way he seemed to radiate wholesomeness. It wasn’t difficult to picture Ryou as a holy being of light; the man was no taller than Yugi and wore a collared shirt under a sweater vest. He  was the antithesis of Yugi’s “relaxed grunge” style.“Of course, Yugi! And don’t worry about paying; it’s my treat! I figure we could use a little celebration for the start of a new school year, hmm?”

Yugi’s stomach churned noisily and he was suddenly reminded of how little he’d eaten that day. He laughed lightly, feeling his mind begin to relax out of the anxiousness of just a few moments ago. He found himself matching Bakura’s positivity as he replied, “Okay, but how about I cover afternoon tea?”

“You’re a hobbit worth your salt, Yugi,” Ryou joked sincerely, and the two strolled off together chatting merrily about Tolkien and wizards and far-off that didn’t exist outside their minds.

Yugi figured the essay could wait another day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!  
> Only about four days since the last one; I have to say I'm impressed with myself! I ended up putting off some assignments for this, though, so...whoops! Oh well.  
> What did you guys think? :) I always love feedback, as this is a piece I'm writing both to play around with characters I adore and to improve my writing abilities. I'm trying to focus on writing lengthier pieces because I tend to rush my writing, so I'm always open to both positive and negative feedback that will help me in the long run!
> 
> Sorry for all the teases this chapter ;) I'm coming to find out that writing a slow burn is a lot like reading one, but 10x more frustrating.  
> Still, maybe we'll have some fun next chapter.  
> Ciao!
> 
> (send some love on tumblr! : anonymous-lizard)


	3. by chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “My name,” the stranger clarified. “I’m Atem.”

When Yugi walked into school on Monday morning, he couldn’t shake the odd feeling that something important was around the corner.

“Hey, did you hear about homecoming?”

“Yeah, who are you asking to homecoming?”

“Are you excited for homecoming?”

“Homecoming-”

“ _Homecoming!_ ”

“Wait, what’s coming up?”

Something told him it might have had to do with a school dance.

“Yugi!” A bright voice called from somewhere behind him. Yugi slowed, letting Tea catch up to him as he walked. When she reached him the two fell into a quick stride, moving along with the tide of students all trying to make it to class before the bell.

“Hey, Tea,” He smiled at her. “You’re looking chipper today; am I missing something?”

It was true; Tea was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet as she walked, leaving Yugi having to powerwalk to keep up with her. Her bag, an army-green messenger-style book bag she’d gotten online from a fashion website Yugi (and according to Tea, most of the world’s population that wasn’t Korea) had never heard of, was swinging merrily in her hand in a way that made Yugi wary of being accidentally taken out at the knees. Yugi knew this look on Tea, but he’d only seen it a few times before- once when she’d been accepted to the dance team and cheer squad in the same day, and again when her favorite K-POP band had put out a new album.

If Tea was this happy, something really good must have been happening.

“Yugi,” Tea was practically vibrating with excitement now, and Yugi was starting to feel it by sheer nature of osmosis. “Do you have anything going on on the twenty-third of this month?”

Yugi blinked, unsure and a little wary of the peals of energy now radiating off of Tea. It was starting to reach Critical Mass; if he wasn’t careful he was pretty sure she might explode. “Um...I don’t really know, isn’t that weeks away? I guess I’d be getting ready for Halloween, but now much else-”

“Good!” Tea practically squealed, causing Yugi to jump. “Because you and Joey and Tristan are coming with me to Homecoming!”

“Homecoming?” Yugi paused. He’d never been one to keep track of school events, but was the dance really that close?

“Yugi, do you pay any attention? They announced the date of the dance last Friday on the morning announcements! Don’t worry,” Tea was barreling on, “I knew you wouldn’t think about it so I already made plans. I was thinking it could be the four of us, yanno? And you guys could all get ties to match my dress, right, so we could show up looking like the Secret Service or something. It could look really cool! I went ahead and pre-ordered tickets-”

“Pre-ordered tickets?” Yugi had never been to a school dance before, but he was pretty sure pre-ordering tickets wasn’t a thing. “Is that even-”

“Oh,” Tea responded with a wave of her hand that was a far too nonchalant, “I might have pulled some strings- but that’s not important.” Yugi could have been imagining it, but he swore he could see a shadow pass over Tea’s smile. Involuntarily, he shivered.

His friends could be terrifying.

“What’s important,” Tea continued as though nothing had happened, “Is that I look pretty good in red, but I think that’s a bit too bold for Homecoming, so I was thinking something more blue? I have a few ideas for colors but we would have to find something that would look good on _everyone_ and Joey and I really don’t match up like you’d think,” She suddenly stopped, causing Yugi to blanche and stutter to a halt, apologizing reflexively to three people who nearly ran into him as a result. Tea was pulling a Serious Face, one that Yugi knew was a look of pure determination. She was a woman on a mission. “Yugi,” she was saying in a Serious Tone, “Tell me honestly. Is mid-length too formal for Homecoming?”

He opened his mouth to say something, something which probably would have come out as a sophisticated-sounding “uhh”, but to Yugi’s relief Tea continued before he could speak.

“Because I was thinking, short dresses are fun, but they’re a little worn-out and I spend a lot of time in skirts anyway, you know? So instead I could do something a bit more mature, like ‘Hey, that girl knows her stuff’ kind of mature, but I don’t want to go into ‘Wow, she should be at the Met Gala’ level of mature; that’s more of a Prom thing, isn’t it?”

It took Yugi a moment to realize she was looking at him expectantly. He tried to find something to say in response but only managed a timid “ahh...mmhmm?”

Tea nodded, seemingly satisfied with this response, and turned to keep walking down the hallway. Yugi shook his head, smiling, and jogged to catch up with her businesslike stride. “There’s also this girl in Tristan’s math class he’s been crushing on, Miho? She’s pretty cool; she’s a Japanese exchange student and she’s joining the dance team and cheer squad for the semester. So I was thinking she could tag along with us too, since Tristan could use a kick in the pants to get it together and ask a girl out for once. Seriously,” she sighed, “You should see the way he moons over her. Yugi, this girl must be some kind of magic, because I’ve never seen Tristan make…” she grimaced, remembering something, “ _that_ face before.” Yugi chuckled. Tea of all people was one to obsess over romance, so he knew she was secretly plotting to get them together, but she also had her limits and Tristan could be a piece of work when he was crushing on someone. In their sophomore year when Tristan had had a thing for a really pretty English teacher, he’d started his own club just to ask her to be the supervisor. She’d turned him down in place of the Creative Writing club and he’d been inconsolable for a month.

To his credit, the Beautification Club still held to this day.

“Anyway,” Tea shook her head, excitement seeming to have fizzled out for the time being as she returned to being a slightly more normal Tea, “Isn’t this your class, Yugi?”

Yugi looked around and realized that he was, in fact, standing outside his first period classroom. How he’d walked up two flights of stairs and turned three different corners without noticing was beyond him, though he suspected it was another part of Tea’s ambiguous witchcraft.

“Well, I better get going!” Tea beamed, sending him a quick wave as she turned back down the hallway. “I’ve got my own class to get to. See ya in math, Yugi!”

Yugi chuckled, shaking his head as he turned the handle to his classroom door. _Girls,_ he thought to himself, exasperated.

 

In second period World History, Yugi nearly jumped out of his skin when a loud, bouncy _brng_ rang through the classroom. He shot an apologetic look at the teacher (who glared in return as she turned back to her online Solitaire) before hastily fumbling through his backpack, finally catching his phone before it could sound again. As he turned his phone over in his hand he caught the notification that flashed across the screen.

_(10:02)_ **J-Dawg:** _this video is literally older than what it’s talking about oml_

Yugi glanced around the classroom. The lights had been darkened as a crackling, black-and-white video played over the projector screen, looking more like it had been recorded through a microwave than an actual camera. The teacher, frail glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, was focused intently on her computer screen, the green squares of light reflecting in her glasses the only giveaway to her occupation. The video, from what Yugi could tell, was covering a subject Yugi had already learned about in his own time- something to do with ancient military war strategies he’d read about last night out of genuine curiosity. The video was basic supplementary knowledge that had, according to another survey of the room, already put half the class to sleep.

He glanced down at his phone again, keeping it hidden under the desk and flicking on the _silent_ switch despite the teacher’s obvious apathy. He figured he could chance it.

_I know,_ he typed back. _I can’t understand half the audio._

_(10:03)_ **J-Dawg:** _hey so did t ask you about hoco yet?_

Yugi caught his friend’s eye and quirked an eyebrow. Joey offered a small shrug in response.

_Yeah,_ he wrote out. _She got me on the way in. You?_

_(10:03)_ **J-Dawg:** _first period. woman practically jumped me. thought i was gonna die_

Yugi bit back a snort. Yeah, that was definitely Tea. _So what do you think?_

_(10:04)_ **J-Dawg:** _i think t is crazy but i kinda like it_

_(10:04)_ **J-Dawg:** _i mean its our snr year rite??_

Yugi couldn’t argue with that. _Sure, but what about her whole plan?_

_(10:05)_ **J-Dawg:** _yug_

_(10:05)_ **J-Dawg:** _i luv u man_

_(10:05)_ **J-Dawg:** _but do u rlly wanna be what stands in the way of t n one of her plans???_

Yugi glanced at Joey out of the corner of his eye. His friend was sending him a pointed, somewhat fearful look. Yugi rolled his eyes and turned back to their conversation.

_That’s fair. Besides, not like anyone else had any ideas._

_(10:06)_ **J-Dawg:** _ok bit did she tell u abt miho??_

_A bit,_ Yugi replied. _The girl from Tristan’s class? From Japan?_

_(10:06)_ **J-Dawg:** _ye man, he pointed her out on the cheer team at fb practice. she’s cute but damn if he isnt out of his league here_

Joey’s message was accompanied by an eyeroll emoji. Yugi found himself smiling.

_I don’t know, Joey. Tea’s his wingman,_ Yugi texted back. _If she wants it to happen, it’ll happen._

_(10:07)_ **J-Dawg:** _idk yug, t is powerful bt not magic. btw yug r u gonna ask some1? i kno t wants to match but u should try taking a girl this time js_

Yugi rolled his eyes at his phone. He actually didn’t mind school dances, despite what his friends seemed to think. Sure, he wasn’t a fan of crowds, and the music was notoriously awful and way too loud. But spending a night out with his friends for a one-day-only exclusive of fancy clothes and a nice dinner was actually a lot of fun, when done right. And if anyone could plan the lights out of a day like Homecoming, it was Tea.

Still, he didn’t exactly care about taking a girl. That, he was certain of.

Yugi was about to type a response when their conversation was cut off by the muffled _thk-thk_ sound of heels on carpet as the squat woman began working her way around the room, presumably to try her luck at confiscating any phones until the end of the day. Yugi and Joey exchanged a glance and slid their phones out of sight, turning to the front of the room and maintaining the facade of interest with practiced ease. Sure, Yugi would be the first to admit that he was a bookworm and a complete nerd, but he was also a senior. He had learned his share of survival tactics for boring classes by now.

Joey sent him a quick look as the teacher passed by their desks. _After class_. Yugi returned it with a small nod and Joey sighed, slumping over his desk and folding his arms to become a makeshift pillow. Yugi, hopelessly lost as to what the video was trying to cover, opened to a blank page of his notebook and began sketching out the hieroglyphs he remembered from his last period of English History.

 

School had settled into a more familiar routine for Yugi as his teachers had started piling on the homework. By the fourth week, the excitement of a new school year had worn off almost entirely and Yugi soon found himself immersed in his studies, swept up in the pace of his classes with school and homework and Joey’s insistence on weekly burger joint ventures keeping his schedule booked left and right. The chatter of homecoming had died down temporarily, although Yugi knew better than to think it was gone forever. Excitement over school dances always seemed to come in waves, and the announcement of the date of the dance was only the first in a series.

For now, Yugi was more worried about that damned essay. He’d put it off for days before the deadline and written it at midnight sometime during the week prior, so it wasn’t exactly his strongest work. Actually, he hadn’t even really proofread it in his desperation to get to bed. He’d just hit _print_ and decided that was that. At the time he’d been brave enough to figure it would be fine, but now he was starting to worry he’d cheated himself out of a good grade and settled for “good enough”. Joey would tell him he was worrying for nothing, but he couldn’t help it- Yugi was the type to strive for a 4.0 not because he felt he had to, but because he knew he _could._ He cared more to get grades that reflected his capabilities rather than good grades for the sake of good grades.

Although, he couldn’t deny; a 4.0 was still a 4.0. It always looked nice on a report card.

Yugi’s mind was still buzzing with worry as he twisted the dial for his locker, inputting the combination with practiced movements and barely noticing as he pulled the door open. Falling into the motions he’d gone through dozens of times now, Yugi replaced one textbook for another as he worried at his bottom lip, brain scattered a hundred different ways, each demanding his attention more than the last.

He set his World History book down in his locker.

_It should be graded by now, I guess I’ll know the answer by today-_

His Math and Social Science books came next, cradled in the crook of his elbow atop his three-ring binder.

_He’d let me do a rewrite if I explained myself, right?_

The door to his locker shut with a _clang._

_Would I have time? Grandpa wanted more help with the shop this week-_

He turned on heel.

_I could use the extra money to pay for the dance-_

_PHWAM._

Yugi was jerked from his thoughts as something solid and heavy collided with his shoulder, sending everything in his arms flying. Time slowed to a crawl as Yugi could only look on in horror, mouth falling open into a small “o” as he stared helplessly at the disaster playing out before him.

_FWUMP._ His math book hit the ground a few feet away, sliding on its protective cloth cover but slamming closed with a _thwap,_ seemingly unharmed.

_CH-THNK._ His social science textbook fell face-down, pages slapping together in a way that would probably leave a few bent but otherwise okay.

But the binder.

The hallway seemed to be holding its breath. The binder, three-ringed and already beginning to bulge with paperwork, made a slow but graceful arc into the air. At least fifty pairs of eyes all  watched in awe as it descended, spine hitting the ground and falling open with a telltale _CRACK._

The rings burst open from the impact.

Papers exploded from the binder, flying into the air and skidding across the floor in all directions.

Yugi stood, gaping.

His brain started working again.

“Holy shit,” he whispered, unable to stop himself.

Suddenly, the hallway was full of life again- people losing interest as the pressure of the bell schedule took over, ushering them along. Feet were treading on his papers left and right, leaving some with dirt marks and others bent, or scattered even further along the hallway floor.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Yugi swore, hastily dropping to his knees and shuffling papers together frantically. It was a small relief to see that most of them had at least stayed in order, fanned out along the hallway like a deck of cards, but still others that had gone further were now being tread on by various sneakers and high-tops, in desperate need of rescue. Yugi barely bit back another curse as he dove across the hallway before one of his papers- an old notes page, by the looks of it- could be kicked any further, but a tanned hand landed on it before his could.

“Are you alright?” Spoke a deep voice from above him and Yugi flinched, realizing he hadn’t even apologized to whoever he’d collided with. He hurriedly began to stand, apology already bubbling from his lips, but his brain faltered entirely when he locked eyes with the person he’d bumped into.

A pair of deep, crimson eyes stared back at him.

Yugi gulped.

“That was quite the collision,” the voice continued, and Yugi was barely hearing a word of it because _oh god oh god oh god there’s no way_ but the sharp, cut jawline was unmistakable and Yugi was pretty sure he was going to die right there. “I’m afraid I wasn’t looking where I was going, are you hurt at all?”

Yugi’s brain took an eternity too long to process what the stranger from all of his best dreams lately was saying, but when it finally registered, his mind kicked into panicked overdrive.

“Oh! Yes, I’m sorry, no really, that was all me, I wasn’t paying attention and I completely crashed into you-” he looked down as he felt his face heat up in embarrassment, pretending to search for the rest of his papers before realizing they were being handed to him in a neat stack by a strong and steady pair of hands. “-oh,” he finished lamely, swallowing hard, “Uhm. Thank you.”

“It’s no problem,” chuckled that rich, deep voice, and if Yugi’s heart wasn’t going a thousand miles an hour before it was most certainly doing an exhilarating little tap-dance in his chest by now. “I suppose we both need to get our heads out of the clouds, hmm?”

Yugi’s brain had gone from full-throttle overdrive to a complete flatline as he stared, dumbfounded, at the ethereally handsome face now smiling kindly in front of him. He scrambled to get his thoughts together much in the same way he’d just done with his paperwork and managed to string together a feeble “Yeah, I guess so” in what he hoped was an acceptable amount of time to not look like a complete idiot in front of the man currently somehow also holding both of his textbooks, though Yugi really had no clue when he’d managed to grab those.

“Well, then, I suppose this was a good wake-up call for both of us,” the man was smiling again and Yugi found that he was smiling too, unable to help himself. “Is this everything of yours?”

“Wh- oh!” Yugi looked down again, checking to see whether he had everything. To his relief, there were no more papers being kicked around the hallway; instead they were all stacked in his binder, rings still open but everything accounted for. “Yeah, that looks like it. Thank you,” he added hurriedly, somehow finding his panic from just seconds ago melting away steadily. “I think you just saved my grades for the week.”

The man barked a laugh, a hearty sound that took Yugi by surprise in the most pleasant way and sent warm jitters through his body; the kind that pulled a ridiculous grin onto his face before he could even try to stop himself. He was glad he was already kneeling to pick up his things- he wasn’t sure he’d’ve been able to stay standing if he had tried.

“Well, then,” sighed the man, hand over his chest like Yugi’s dumb comment had been the funniest thing he’d ever heard, “I’m certainly glad I was here to help. Think you’ll be alright on your way back to class, or should I tell the janitor to follow you with a broom and dustpan?”

Yugi couldn’t believe his increasingly strange luck. First, he’d nearly bulldozed (or been bulldozed by) the hot stranger who had been haunting his dreams for weeks; now he was here, real as ever, and he was...well, he was _interesting._

Even weirder, Yugi found himself responding like they were the oldest friends in the world.

“I dunno, I’m pretty sure I can manag- OUCH!” He yelped, then looked down and blushed heavily as he realized he’d closed the middle ring of his binder on his pointer finger. He quickly freed himself and closed the binder properly, awkwardly pulling his materials into his arms and moving to stand. “Er- well, I hope so, anyway.”

The stranger was laughing again, muscular shoulders that were shown off almost entirely by a loose-fitting tank top shaking in amusement. Yugi thought distantly that if girls’ shoulders were banned for being distracting, ones like these should be outright illegal.

He paused for a moment, incredulous. Where had that thought even come from?

“Atem, by the way.”

A hand was being held out in front of his face, snapping Yugi back to reality. He took it without thinking, a belated “What?” slipping out as he realized the man had said something.

“My name,” the stranger clarified. “I’m Atem.”

_Oh._

“Like the Egyptian god?” Yugi found himself asking, wondering how he could be forming all these words while his brain was too scattered to be thinking about them.

The man- _Atem-_ smiled, an unreadable expression crossing his features. “Yes,” he replied, “something like that.”

For a moment Yugi could only stand there, smiling back at _Atem_ as though he were powerless to do anything but. He couldn’t help it; there was something enchanting about Atem’s presence. His warm smile, his relaxed demeanor, the firm but soft feel of Atem’s hand in his own-

Hand.

Handshake.

_Shit._

Yugi looked down at their still-clasped hands in alarm, realizing he must have been making Atem really uncomfortable with how long he’d dragged out their handshake. He jerked his hand away with a quick “Sorry!”, feeling the formerly receding heat begin to pool in his cheeks yet again.

Atem’s eyes glimmered with amusement. Yugi had to tilt his chin a little ways to look at him properly- Atem, up close, stood about two inches above Yugi but was still by far shorter than Tristan or Joey. Hopelessly, Yugi knew he found that endearing.

“No need to apologize,” Atem was saying with that smooth, warm voice that was doing well to short-circuit Yugi’s brain yet again. “And you-”

_BRNG. BRNG. BRNG._

Both Yugi and Atem jolted in surprise, Yugi nearly dropping his books a second time but managing to stabilize himself just in time. His stomach dropped as he looked around the hall to find it virtually empty, the two of them the only ones left in sight.

“I’d better get going,” Yugi blurted hastily, “My math teacher is really strict about tardies- uhm, thank you again, Atem!” He hurried off with a quick wave goodbye over his shoulder. “It was really nice meeting you!”

Atem blinked, a small look of surprise lacing his expression, before it softened into another small smile accompanied by a simple two-fingered mock salute.

By the way this made Yugi’s heart jump, he realized he was done for.

 

“So, Yugi, I was thinking of becoming a stripper.”

“That’s great, Tea.”

“ _Yugi!”_

A sharp kick to his shin jerked him from his thoughts and Yugi jumped, sending his friend a betrayed glare. “Ow, Tea, what was that for?”

“That was for you being a total space-case!” She hissed, keeping her voice under the steady murmur of conversation in the classroom. “You’ve been on cloud nine since you walked in almost _five minutes late!_ I haven’t seen you do that in...ever! What’s gotten into you, Yugi? You’ve been out of it all week!”

“Sorry, Tea,” Yugi shrugged guiltily. “I guess I’ve just been-”

“Yugi, if you say you’re just tired one more time, I’ll show you why Joey flinches everytime I move my right arm,” she huffed, poking a finger deliberately into Yugi’s chest.

He laughed awkwardly, hands up in defense. “Okay, okay, sorry Tea. I’ve just been a bit distracted lately. But from now on, my mind will be completely math-oriented-”

“Yeah, nice try,” Tea sighed, pushing the noisily pink half-sheet of paper in front of him. “While you were on your space expedition I went ahead and finished our math problems. And don’t worry,” she gave him a pointed look when he opened his mouth to protest, “You’re paying me back later with that new boba shop Bakura was talking about. Seriously, you’d think it was part of some British religion the way he talks about that stuff.” She shook her head, softening as she lowered her voice so only they would be able to hear. “Now, tell me what’s been on your mind while I think about what kind of tea I’m gonna make you buy me.”

Yugi looked around nervously, then lowered his voice and leaned in conspiratorially. “Okay, it started during the first week of school.”

“The first _week?_ ”

“ _Quiet!_ ” Yugi hissed, looking around nervously. “It’s...about a boy.”

“ _No. Way.”_ Tea stifled an excited giggle. Yugi rolled his eyes.

“I...started seeing this guy.”

“ _Yugi!”_

“No, wait- not like that! I just mean-” Yugi plucked at something on the leg of his jeans. “I started... _seeing_ him. Around. It...started in the office, when grandpa brought me my lunch.”

Tea’s eyes were shining now. “So...c’mon, who’s the mystery guy?”

Yugi bit the inside of his cheek. “He’s really not- look, he’s just someone I’ve seen around school, and I only learned his name because I bumped into him today. Literally,” he groaned, hiding his face in his hands. “It was awful, Tea. I felt like my brain stopped working entirely. I could barely get a sentence out!”

“Awww, _Yugi!_ ” Tea gushed, giving him a playful smack on the arm that he was pretty sure would bruise. “That’s _wonderful!_ C’mon, now you gotta tell me, what’s his name?”

Yugi hesitated, unable to keep himself from letting a small smile slip. “Atem.”

Tea let out a dramatic gasp that warranted another _shh_ from Yugi. “No way.”

“Yes w- wait, do you know him?”

“Yugi, he’s only the hot new guy who moved here from freaking _Africa_ and speaks, like, three languages-”

“Tea, how do you know all of this?”

“I’m in cheer, Yugi, keep up,” she rolled her eyes. “So, what’s the plan?”

Yugi coughed. “Plan?”

“Duh, Yugi!” Tea rolled her eyes, exasperated. “You have his name, are you gonna ask him out?”

“ _What?_ ” Yugi spluttered. “Tea, I don’t know anything _about_ him, I just- _couldn’t!_ ”

“Oh my god, you’re _useless,_ ” She playfully punched his arm again, making him flinch and rub the spot with a protesting groan. “Hey, serious note,” the humor faded from her expression. “Do Joey and Tristan know anything?  I mean, have you…”

“No,” Yugi cut in quickly, then sighed and rested his chin in his palm. “I’m not...I mean, I haven’t _told_ them yet.”

Tea nodded, laying a gentle hand on his arm. “Y’know, they really wouldn’t mind, Yugi. They’re your friends. It wouldn’t make a difference to them-”

“I know,” he sighed. “I know, and it’s not that they’re not great, it’s just…” he focused intently on the glaring sheet of paper, Tea’s neat handwriting scrawled across the page suddenly the most interesting thing in the world to him. “It’s just different anyway, you know? Besides, I don’t even know for sure…” he hesitated, and Tea nodded understandingly.

“You don’t need to know for sure, Yugi,” she said softly. “Honestly, I don’t think they’d care. I mean,” she corrected with a wave of her hand, “They’d _care_ , but they wouldn’t _care,_ y’know?”

Yugi chuckled. “I know. I just think-”

“Alright, geek squad!” Called the teacher from the front of the room, feet propped on his desk next to his computer. “The bell is in three minutes, and I’m feeling lazy today. Turn your papers in and start packing up; you can leave when the bell rings!”

Tea huffed and snatched the paper from the desk. “My point is, Yugi, don’t stress about it, okay?” She cut him off before he could say anything. “I’m serious. Just relax! You can tell Tristan and Joey whenever you want, but don’t put it off so long you have a heart attack about it. And Yugi?” She called after him as he picked up his books and shuffled towards the door, following the rest of the students who weren’t busy turning in papers. “We’re taking Tristan’s dad’s old van to homecoming. With him driving, we’ll have an extra seat.” She beamed that nefarious smile his way once more. “You should think about it, okay?”

Yugi’s face was still crimson when he walked into sixth period.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry this took me so long to post! Since i got the last one up it's just been one thing after another- graduation, trips, and apparently a lot of stuff to get done over the beginning of summer break! Crazy stuff, but I'm glad to be back.  
> During the hiatus I got a lot of really positive and supportive comments, and I just have to say, you guys are the best :') It's been really motivating to keep going with this story and I'm so glad to hear you're all enjoying it!  
> Just so you guys are aware, I'm gonna be going on a ten-day trip pretty soon and probably won't be posting anything during that time, but I'm determined to get you guys another chapter before I go. With luck I'll be able to post chapter four before I leave so it's not so long of a wait before I post number five. But we'll see!  
> As for how long this fic is going to be- well, at this point, it's hard to say! I have a lot of things I want to do with this fic and I'd like to take it through the whole school year if possible. Just more fun, right?  
> Anyway, thanks for reading, you guys! I appreciate the support :) See ya next time!
> 
> (send some love on tumblr!: anonymous-lizard)


	4. yugi's name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Tea,” Yugi groaned, sitting up straight again, “I think I just got asked on a date.”

_ Bum bumbumbum bumbumbum bumbumbum bum… _

“Wazzat- nuh- grmpah-”

_ Bum bumbumbum bumbumbum BUM bumbumbum… _

“Guh?” A pale arm broke through the tangle of bedsheets, groping mindlessly around the small expanse of the mattress.

_ Bum bum bumbumbum bumbumbum bum buuum… _

“Immup- I’m up, I’m-”

_ BUM BUM BUUUUM, BUM BUM BUUUM- _

_ FWAP. _

“ _ Urrg,” _ Yugi groaned simply, rubbing the sticky, sleepy feeling from his eyes with the back of his hand. He let out another displeased  _ hrmph  _ when he realized his hand was cold- as was the rest of the air in his bedroom. He pulled his comforter protectively over his bare shoulders and turned over in his bed, feeling his nose grow colder with every breath he took. October had been kind enough to spare them the cold weather up until now, but it seemed with the weekend came the end to the warm nights and temperate mornings. Yugi  _ hmphed  _ again, snuggling deeper into his blanket nest. Whatever had woken him up was at a decent risk of being shoved under a pillow and forgotten about for another hour.

_ Wait. _

Still clutched in his extended hand, screen showing the timer for an accepted call, was his phone.

_ Oh. _ Curiously, he pressed the speaker to his ear. He tried to articulate a greeting, but through his dry lips and sleep-tightened voice came a sound that could have possibly been a groggy “Hullo?”

“ _ Yugi, my man _ !” Came Tristan’s bright, excessively perky voice through the receiver. Yugi returned his greeting with a  _ hmmrph _ . By now, all of his friends were well familiar with Yugi’s deep-seeded hatred of being woken up unnaturally. Or naturally. Or at all.

On the other end, Tristan laughed. Yugi had the sudden realization that what woke him up had been a bootleg recording of the Rocky theme that he’d set as Tristan’s ringtone months ago. Suddenly, some things were making a lot more sense.

“ _ Yugi, don’t tell me you’re still in bed. It’s almost ten! _ ” Yugi responded with another groan, this time forcing himself to sit up despite the cold. Glancing out his window he could see flecks of rain trailed across the glass; it wasn’t quite raining, but it was safe to say summer was officially over.

“Ten is normal for a Saturday,” he protested, pinning his phone to his ear with his shoulder so he could stretch his arms high over his head. A strangled grunt of satisfaction pushed itself out of his chest as he relaxed. “You’re just an alien, remember?”

Over the line, Tristan snorted. “ _ Hey man, don’t knock the ways of the early bird! You’re talking to the master of the seven A.M. diner discount. You know, at that one just off Hansen, they call me the Worm Guy. Y’know _ ,” he continued in a far too prideful tone, “ _ because the early bird always gets the worm. _ ”

“Wait, I thought that was because of that one time with the blender-”

“ _ N-O-P-E, definitely what I said! _ ” Tristan interjected with a little too much force. Yugi chuckled. “ _ But what is relevant is that both of our friends are waiting on us. Tea called everyone this morning saying something about a new cafe she found, and she’s insisting we all try it for breakfast. Something about wanting to get to it before all the town hipsters try to claim it. She sounded pretty serious about it- like, Instagram Serious. _ ”

Yugi winced. “As in... _ that kind  _ of serious?”

He couldn’t see Tristan nod, but felt the seriousness in how he did it nonetheless. “That _ kind of serious, Yugi _ .” Tristan’s voice sounded grim. A chill went down Yugi’s spine. He’d only ever seen Tea get to  _ That Kind of Serious; Like, Instagram Serious  _ a few times in their friendship, but from what he could tell it had the potential to be hellfire and fury. Reflexively, he gulped.

“I guess we’d better hurry, then. I mean, it’s safe to say we both value our lives,” he added, only half-joking. There was a beat of silence. Both of them shivered.

“Anyway,” Yugi continued, shaking his head to clear the dark feeling that had settled over the conversation, “Where exactly is this new cafe she’s found?”

“ _ Dunno _ ,” Tristan responded. “ _ But apparently it’s not far. Since Tea’s calling strategy didn’t work, she sent me to be the one-man Yugi Collection Squad. Whenever you feel like joining the rest of society, Mia Wallace and I are outside. _ ” 

At this Yugi shot bolt upright, scrambling over to his window only to find that sure enough, Tristan was waving cheerfully at him from the street. He was still mounted securely on an old Honda motorcycle, the reflective silver of the duct tape that currently kept the seat from falling apart just visible under Tristan’s jeans. Yugi was pretty sure Tristan’s bike was alive through pure stubbornness; it had sacrificed it’s “retro-chic” look years ago in lieu of coughing whenever the key was turned in the ignition. Yugi was pretty sure it had been discontinued decades before either of them had been born. Still, Mia Wallace clung to life with the determination of a four-year-old holding onto a candy bar.

Tristan had first introduced Yugi to his bike with a very formal introduction; several awkward minutes of Tristan cooing at the motorcycle like it was a newborn baby, and then the story of how Mia Wallace had earned her name. At first she was merely CB175, later becoming Norah Kellman when Tristan’s mom had inherited the bike in her teenage years (named for his mother’s highschool sweetheart, Tristan had explained proudly). When Tristan had grown old enough to earn his motorcycle license, she’d been renamed Mia Wallace after the poster girl for  _ Pulp Fiction _ . If asked, Yugi was almost certain he could recount this tale as accurately as Tristan himself, having been reminded of it every time Tristan brought up the subject of his bike. Either Tristan had a terrible memory, or he really loved telling the story of how Mia Wallace got her name. Yugi was pretty sure it was a mix of the two.

“Anyway, Yugi,” Tristan continued, the voice over the phone just a beat behind the lips moving outside, “I’d put a move on it, if I were you. If you make me wait too much longer, I’ll make you wear the Cool Helmet all the way there.”

Without hesitation, Yugi hung up the call and turned to dig through his closet for something warm. From outside, he could hear muffled laughter mingling with the loudening sound of rain against the pavement.

  
  
  


Tristan’s broad grin greeted him when Yugi stepped outside moments later, hair still mussed from the rush-job he’d made of combing it through with his fingers on the way out the door. His friend sent him an impressed nod of approval as Yugi stumbled, panting, through his front door, pulling it shut behind him a little too urgently. Tristan held up an offered hand for a high-five, glancing at his watch as Yugi accepted and mounted the bike behind him.

“I gotta give it to you, Yugi,” Tristan was saying, “I think seven minutes is a record for you. Normally that’s how long it takes you just to brush your teeth. I’m still not sure how you do that, man.”

“Would you say it’s a record that earned me the Uncool Helmet?” He asked hopefully, tugging his dark blue windbreaker tighter around his shoulders against the morning chill.

Tristan seemed to think about this for a moment, before decisively shrugging a shoulder and tossing Yugi the sleek, plain black helmet he’d had tucked under an arm. Yugi gratefully fastened the clip under his own chin, fussing with his hair for a moment before it would sit right on his head. In front of him, Tristan procured another helmet from seemingly nowhere- Yugi guessed he’d already had it out, prepared to crown him as a would-be victim of the Orange Monstrosity. Or, as it had come to be known more recently…

The Cool Helmet. So named because Joey had decided that calling it  _ The Orange Monstrosity  _ was too accurate. In Yugi’s opinion, the name was an understatement. The helmet in question looked less like headgear and far more like the arts and crafts project of a demonic ten-year-old. It was still wearable, but what had once been a dignified form of safety gear had somehow become a disturbing amalgam of orange duct tape, stickers, Sharpie markings and weird stick-out bits that didn’t seem exactly possible. The only sensical- if a little disturbing- part of the helmet were the words “COOL GUY” in bold, black lettering, written across the back of the helmet. 

Nobody knew the true origins of the Cool Helmet. It was something of an urban legend, the way it had come into Tristan’s possession- or, more accurately, come into its pitiful and utterly horrifying excuse for an existence. Rumor had it that Tristan, when he’d first gotten his bike, had taken it out for a joyride without his helmet- stories varied on what happened next, but after a concussion and a few thousand in bike repairs, Tristan’s mother had been furious. Nobody knew what happened after, but on the first day of school, Tristan had arrived sporting the then-nameless monstrosity and nobody dared to ask questions.

According to Joey, ironic names were way cooler anyway.

“Hold on tight, Yugi,” Tristan called over his shoulder as he turned the key in the ignition. Mia Wallace let out several strange strangled, wheezing noises, hacking out a grinding sound before spluttering to life. “Nobody’s on the road this early. And you know what that means!”

Yugi shamelessly tightened his hands around Tristan’s waist, swallowing the nervous lump in his throat with immense effort. “ _ Speed laws don’t count if nobody’s out, _ ” he mumbled, quoting Tristan’s latest life motto. Tristan let out a whoop as he revved the engine.

“Bingo!”

Yugi felt his stomach lurch as the wheels began to turn.

 

“Jeez,” Was Tea’s greeting as Tristan pulled open the cafe door, allowing a rather pale and winded-looking Yugi to enter first. A twine-and-wood sign reading “ _ hey there!”  _ in hand-painted lettering rattled against the glass, greeting them in faded blue cheerfulness. “Took you guys long enough. What, did Yugi have to re-dye his hair?” Despite her sarcasm, Tea was grinning like she’d just won the lottery. Looking around, Yugi immediately understood why.

Yugi knew this look well- when it came to picking out cozy, niche spots to exploit for her Instagram, Tea was like a hawk. She could sniff out a new bookstore a mile away, and be there the day it opened already knowing which shots would look best on her page. For Tea, social media was as much an art form as it was a weird political game Yugi hoped he would never understand.  He  _ did  _ know Tea, though, and for her, finding a hole-in-the-wall cafe with a fireplace and local art displayed in the corner was like finding an oil well in a desert. She was ready to take full advantage of the homely, warm feeling the hardwood flooring and cushy lounge chairs gave off. For a weekend morning it looked relatively empty, but Yugi suspected this was part of why Tea had dragged them all out so early on a Saturday. 

Yugi dropped gratefully in the chair to Tea’s left, still feeling his knees trembling from Tristan’s idea of speed laws, finding it hard to keep a fond smile off his face. The table wobbled as he leaned against it. “I should have known. Today’s a shooting day, huh?”

“Oh, Yugi,” Tea shook her head in clear disappointment. Yugi turned to Tristan, hoping to find some kind of answer to his mounting pile of questions, only to find Tristan mirroring Tea’s position,  _ tsk _ ing at him quietly. Across from him, Joey slouched further down in his chair, arms folded and hair falling unhindered into his face. Helpless, Yugi sighed and turned back to Tea, who now had a look of fiery determination in her eyes.

“Yugi, I’m disappointed. You’ve been in the game long enough to know that a shooting day is never  _ just  _ a shooting day. No,” she punctuated this by slamming a fist on the table, tilting its uneven stance her direcion with a wooden  _ thk _ , “Today, Yugi...today is a victory. Every other teenage blogger in town thinks they have a monopoly on the coffee shop game, but I’ve had this little card up my sleeve for months. Today, Yugi,” she planted both elbows on the table now, securing it temporarily as she loomed over her own templed fingers, tapping them against her lips and narrowing her eyes dangerously, “Today is a day we  _ strike. _ ”

Yugi shivered. God, where did he find these people?

“Well, anyway!” Tea chirped, drumming her hands excitedly on the edge of the table and completely ignoring Yugi’s startled jerk, “Who wants drinks? I’ll buy today, since you’ve all come out to support the cause.” She stood from her chair in an oddly businesslike manner, adjusting the floppy, knit beanie that rested at the crown of her head and throwing a straying end of her scarf back over her shoulder. “I take it you’re all getting the usual?”

On top of the dozens of other mysterious traits Tea had to offer, Yugi would forever wonder why she always asked if they wanted The Usual. He was pretty sure he’d never once told her his drink order- in fact, he couldn’t be sure any of them had- and yet, she always returned from the counter with four drinks, each one catered to the individual it was meant for.

And somehow, Yugi always enjoyed what she brought him.

Yugi stared after Tea for a moment as she joined the short line by the counter, soon giving up with a small chuckle and turning to Joey, who hadn’t said a word since Yugi and Tristan had arrived. Before he could open his mouth to ask a question, Joey’s chest heaved with a single, pronounced snore before returning to a slow rhythm Yugi hadn’t picked up on before. Instead, he turned to Tristan, only to find that his friend had produced a small tripod from thin air and was lining up what looked like a rustic Polaroid for a test shot.

“What?” Tristan retorted at Yugi’s quizzical look. “You think Tea would entrust her Instagram to some novice?”

There wasn’t really any arguing against that, Yugi figured. Instead, he reached into his coat pocket, flipped open his phone and buried himself in his longest-running game of Tetris. Eyes on the screen, he settled into the comfortably low din of cafe chatter mixed with the sound of rain against the sidewalk outside.

 

The morning wore on in idle conversation, the sky apparently trying to offer a sample of every kind of fall weather within the few hours leading up to noon. When Tristan, fanning a still-black Polaroid around with one hand and wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead with the other, finally announced that he had to leave for work, the overcast sky had eased up into a beautiful but deceptive patch of sunshine. Tea, stepping down from a small step-stool she’d been using as a prop, had gathered up the piles of pictures Tristan had already taken and tucked them into a jacket pocket, excusing herself with a satisfied nod and declaring she needed the afternoon to compose her next post. Joey, who after both food and caffeine was clearly feeling much more lively, had excitedly told Yugi about a new game he’d gotten at the start of the year and insisted that a rainy Saturday was the perfect day to break it in.

Yugi, who had already finished all his homework for the weekend and  _ really  _ didn’t feel like staring at that stupid pyramid puzzle for another few hours, decided he couldn’t agree more.

The group had parted ways, Tea’s house being within walking distance and Tristan taking off on his bike, Cool Helmet stored securely under the seat once more. Joey’s house was more out of the way, but Yugi had learned long ago that car rides were never awkward with Joey. For Joey, a car was just an empty space that needed to be filled with words, and he always had some idea about which ones it should be today.

“So I’m runnin’ around, trying to find the damn place, right,” Joey was saying, gesticulating aggressively with his hands while keeping his knees braced on the wheel. Yugi had also learned a long time ago that watching Joey drive did bad things for his blood pressure. “I’m freakin’ out- like, Yug, you gotta understand here, this is the first time I’ve ever been on time for something, and I’m starting to think this place isn’t real. Like, I woke up early for this thing, and I don’t even see it. I’ve been ‘round this building like ten times, Yug!” Yugi nodded dutifully, knowing Joey needed far less to prattle on. “So then, when we’re on lap fifteen, I see this sign. Just this little, dinky, out-of-the-way, I mean  _ really,  _ Yug, there was  _ no way  _ they could expect me to see this from a  _ car _ \- like, this looks like it was made by a really smart two-year-old.”

“Mmhmm,” Yugi added helpfully. Joey’s storytelling was like a steamroller- loud, rapid, and unstoppable. It was better to just let it take its course than try to get in the way. Besides, it also left Yugi an easy job that didn’t take half the energy Joey was using.

“So I pull over, into the smallest parking spot you’ve ever seen- I’m tellin’ you, Yugi, these guys had never seen a car before- and I get out, make sure I look all spiffy- like, Yug, I looked like a mob boss, yanno? But a cool one. I couldda called the guy “slick” and walked in there with a whiskey on the rocks and he never wouldda said a thing. But anyway, I walk in there in my suit, hair all nice, and find out the dude wasn’t even there! Apparently he mixed up the days. So there I am, lookin’ all professional, and some guy behind the counter is tellin’ me my interviewer got his days wrong! I mean, come on! Isn’t that crazy?”

“That’s insane!” Yugi agreed, half-smiling at his friend’s enthusiasm. Outside the car, trees with only half their leaves framed the roads, shades of yellow and orange giving them new dimension. Yugi had always been fond of the suburbs- the slow, tired feeling that settled in on weekends never really bothered him. He liked his inside time. Probably a bit too much, but that was why he had Joey, Tristan, and Tea. They always seemed to have some idea of how to spend a free day. Yugi wasn’t sure how they did it.

“So, finally, after talkin’ to this guy for like five whole minutes, I get him to tell me when my bum of an interviewer will be back in. And guess what? He says it won’t be for another week! Can you believe that? Another week of no job, no money, and no word from the guy I’d been tryanna talk to already! So I did what any normal person would do. I got up from the table, gathered my things, and politely told ‘em to shove it. And then I walked across the street to the Burger Hub and got hired on the spot. Anyway, that’s how I got banned from that insurance company at sixteen. Whateva. Sales is a joke.”

Yugi laughed, shaking his head in a fond grimace. “You sure told them, Joey. You probably would have hated that job anyway.”

“See, that’s what I’m sayin’!” Joey gestured enthusiastically with his left hand, pulling the car out of a swerve just before the wheel on Yugi’s side bumped against the curb. Yugi gulped, keeping his eyes locked on the road. It was easier if he told himself his stomach wasn’t doing flips.

“Anyway, Yug, enough of my ranting. What’s been goin’ on in your life, pal? I feel like I haven’t talked to you in forever. Well, I mean, we talk, but we don’t  _ talk,  _ yanno? You’ve been all up in your own world, and I wanna know what’s so exciting in there!”

If Yugi’s stomach hadn’t been churning bad enough from Joey’s driving, it was now trying to imitate Tonya Harding at the peak of both of her careers. Yugi swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. Overhead, a cloud was blotting out the sharp glare of the sun, casting a dull light over the neighborhood. A few raindrops that hadn’t quite blown off of Yugi’s passenger-side window now slid down to the crevice against the metal, joining the small stream that had formed there earlier.

“Not much,” Yugi found himself saying airily, looking out the window for reasons other than to avoid watching Joey’s driving. “Just business as usual, I guess. My life is just school and the game shop, so I guess I just haven’t had anything exciting to share.” He glanced back at Joey, hoping his nervousness didn’t give him away. Joey’s eyes were set on the road. Yugi wanted to believe his friend’s stony expression was just Joey’s deceptively angry resting face, but a nervous coil in his chest reminded him he knew better.

“Listen, Yug,” Joey let out a sigh after a painstaking moment of silence. “You’ve been doin’ your own thing for the last few weeks, all up in your own head and stuff. And I get it, man. It’s senior year! Since the group came together we’ve been takin’ up all your time, and it’s cool you’re finally gettin’ out a little. But listen,” Joey glanced at Yugi briefly, meeting his eyes for a heartbeat and then turning back to the road, now resting his right elbow on the center console as if to open the space between the two of them. “I’m still one of your best friends, bud. I still know you better than most people. I know somethin’s been goin’ on lately. You know I’m here for you, right, Yug? Whatever it is, if you need someone to talk to- well, I mean, I’m not the best with words, but I still care, yanno?” Yugi realized he’d been staring at his friend, watching him talk. Joey sent him a quick smile before looking back to the road again. “Words are more Tea’s thing, and Tristan is the ‘ice cream and stupid movies’ kinda guy, but...don’t think I’m not here to listen, okay, bud?”

Yugi’s stomach had settled like a pile of bricks in his abdomen at Joey’s words. He swallowed the rising lump in his throat, guilt overtaking the nerves that had been sparking in his brain just a minute ago. He opened his mouth to speak, having to try again when he felt his voice falter the first time. “I...I know, Joey. It’s just been...complicated. I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about it yet, you know? Not until I get a better handle on what’s going on myself.”

Joey seemed to ease up a little, shoulders dropping slightly from the tense pose they’d been in for the last several minutes. “I get it, pal. Just don’t forget you got people rootin’ for ya, okay?” He yanked the lever for the parking break into place and Yugi blinked, not realizing they’d pulled into Joey’s driveway. He let out a small sigh of relief, feeling the thickness of the air in the car fade slightly.

“I know, Joey. I’m sorry I’ve been so distracted lately.” This earned him a laugh and a punch on the shoulder that probably wasn’t supposed to be as hard as it was.

“Yeah, yeah, enough with the dorky apologies,” Joey teased. “C’mon, dweebo. I got video games and all the soda my siblings haven’t gotten to yet just callin’ our names inside.”

Yugi had only been to Joey’s house a few times over the course of their friendship. Usually when it was just the two of them they were over at Yugi’s playing video games, or otherwise out somewhere in Joey’s rustic Civic that liked to cough and splutter whenever he turned the key in the ignition. It wasn’t that Joey had a problem with him coming over. On the contrary, Joey’s dad loved Yugi. Whenever Yugi came over he’d get a hard clap on the shoulder, an offer for a beer (he always declined), and some comment about how he’d get more girls if he put on more muscle (usually followed by some vaguely sexist remarks Yugi would awkwardly laugh off before Joey pulled him into the side room, exchanging a glare with his father the whole way). This was part of the reason Joey prefered being away from his house as much as possible; Yugi didn’t mind- he knew that if Joey could avoid being around his dad, he would. The bulk of it, though, was the siblings.

“It’s oddly quiet around here,” Yugi remarked as he slid his shoes off by the door, taking care to leave his socks on. Joey had made it clear enough there were no rules of cleanliness in the house, walking straight in, trailing small imprints where the wet dirt from the rain on the roads hadn’t quite cleared off his shoes yet. It didn’t seem to make a difference on the once-light hardwood; where there wasn’t a dirt smear, Yugi knew there was an uncomfortably sticky sensation waiting to be found. The carpet wasn’t much better, and the worn sofa seemed to be oddly stained in several places, but anything that didn’t bother Joey was something Yugi had learned to ignore. Besides, it wasn’t like anything smelled. At most, it was musty during the rainy seasons. It was only his dad’s bedroom that smelled like cigar smoke.

“Yeah, this is Prime Time,” Joey called from the side room as Yugi heard first the high-pitch whine and then the electric, crackling sound of a TV coming to life. “Dad got called out for a job today, and the other three assholes are out for the weekend. One’s with a girl, the other two are probably out being suits. You know how it goes.” He heard a shrill creak of couch springs protesting a sudden weight. “Should be clear for a few hours.”

Yugi had met a few of Joey’s siblings before.The oldest was Brett, something of a frat boy stereotype with a love of trying to drunkenly wrestle Joey every time there was a family gathering. To Yugi’s knowledge, his girlfriend- nineteen- was on her second child. She still lived at home, but Brett would stay with her on weekends when he wasn’t working to help out. He actually wasn’t too bad, at least in the one encounter Yugi had had with the guy.

Joey’s middle brother, Kyle, a year older and recently graduated with high honors, had landed an internship at a bank not far from town that kept him relatively busy. Supposedly he was on the fast track to becoming something of a young entrepreneur, though he was banned from discussing this at family dinners. The one time Yugi had shaken the man’s hand, he’d leaned in and given Yugi a slightly-too-serious warning to be careful about associating with the Wheeler name. When he pulled away, he looked at Yugi expectantly, as though waiting for him to turn and run out of the house. Instead, Yugi had just awkwardly shrugged and offered a, “They seem alright to me,” that had earned him a sigh and disappointed head shake in response.

He’d actually never met Joey’s youngest brother, now in middle school. All he knew about him was a string of racist and sexist slurs he’d once overheard being shouted into a headset from the game room, just before Joey had somewhat forcefully pushed Yugi backwards out of the house towards the Civic muttering “C’mon, let’s go.” Yugi had decided he didn’t really care to learn more.

“Cool,” Was Yugi’s only response as he padded down the hall after Joey. He found his friend sprawled out on the couch in what had been deemed the Game Room- a TV you sometimes had to kick to life stood proudly on a stool that sheltered several CD cases, some empty, some holding the wrong game for their cover, and some left untouched for several years. From the musty puce sofa, Joey waved him over, patting the shapeless cushion beside him.

“I think the runt hid the new game,” Joey informed him with a scowl. “Wanna do the usual?” Yugi flopped down next to him, sinking deep into the moth-eaten fabric. The smell of stale Doritos wafted up around him; he could only guess what else might have found its way under the cushions since he was last here.

“Sure,” Yugi shrugged. Smash Bros had become something of a ritual between the two of them: Joey liked to say that there was only one thing that brought two people closer than mutually hating a third person, and that was the bonding experience of aggressive competition. It was the first thing they’d picked up as a mutual interest when they’d decided to become friends, and it had quickly turned into a medium to replace having to find things to say in-person. It combined Yugi’s love of strategy with Joey’s adherence to anything violent and created a platform of mutual understanding.

And Yugi had to admit, relentlessly button-mashing a well-loved XBOX remote was some kind of therapeutic.

“My little sister called me yesterday,” Joey blurted after several long minutes of silence. Yugi took a moment to process what Joey had just said, having been intently focused on their Kirby vs. Pikachu death match. “Battle of the Smalls,” as Joey had called it. 

“That’s awesome, Joey,” Yugi struggled for a moment to keep up with the heated match and the conversation, losing ground for a moment before regaining control. “How’s she been? I keep forgetting you have a little sister; your brothers really take up all the spotlight.”

Joey was silent for a moment. Yugi hesitated, not wanting to lose too much focus on the battle at hand, then chanced a quick glance over at his friend. Joey, thumbs still moving at whirlwind pace on the controller, was staring too intently at the screen, jaw set tight in an expression Yugi didn’t see much of.

“Yeah, most people do. She doesn’t really…” Another pause. Yugi didn’t take his eyes off the screen this time, feeling weirdly like this was some form of giving Joey space. “I mean, she lives with my mom on the other side of town, yanno? And she’s a sophomore, so it’s not like any of our friends would really see much of her anyway. Well, she was a sophomore…” This was followed by a hard swallow and another moment’s pause. “She’s not really in school right now.”

“So...your mom pulled her from classes?” Yugi asked after several long moments of silence. A few more followed his question, leaving a weird, tense feeling in the air between them.

“Second week of the semester,” Joey’s voice sounded strained, but on the screen in front of him Kirby was still trying to land blows. “Since Serenity and I were kids, she had the world’s worst eyesight. I mean, we’re talkin’ glasses since age three, Yug. It- it was just bad.” Without warning, a PAUSE menu flashed across the screen. Yugi gingerly sat his controller down on the arm of the couch, turning slightly to catch Joey in his periphery. His friend was still faced forward, eyes locked on the screen like the match was still going. He could see Joey’s jaw working as if he were chewing something. A knot twisted in Yugi’s stomach. He rarely ever saw Joey like this. 

“Bein’ her older bro and all, I was the one who taught her how to read. Nobody else would put up with all her squinting- not teachers or tutors, which if you ask me is kinda a ripoff.” He chuckled dryly. “And as she got older, it didn’t get better, ya know? Serenity saw every eye doctor in town, and nobody could figure out what it was. Eventually, she ran out of prescriptions. And then, a few weeks ago…” Joey’s voice quavered. “A few weeks ago, she wakes up, and...she’d gone blind, Yug. There was just...nothin’.”

Yugi sat perfectly still, stunned into silence. Joey’s jaw was clenching and unclenching hard enough to work the muscles in his neck. His sentence was punctuated by a hard swallow.

“And my mom...I mean, woman’s crazy. I get that. But when she saw Serenity on the ground, cryin’ and panicking...she took her right over to the city hospital and got her admitted. That’s where she’s been ever since. And I gotta say, Yug…” Joey took a slow, deep breath. “I gotta say, I respect her for that. I’ve never seen that woman splurge on so much as lunch money, even though she’s some  _ bigshot _ business tycoon, but that...it was the right thing to do. Y’know, she was actually the one who told me about it.” A bitter chuckle. “Well...I say “told me.” It was more like, “hello, stranger; if you’re feeling up to a weekend activity you could go see your little sister in the hospital tomorrow, as long as you don’t distract the nurses from her homeschooling”. So, I give her half credit.”

This was followed by another long pause. Before Yugi could say anything, Joey inhaled deeply and turned to him with a strained smile. “Geez, that was a rant. Don’t mind me, bein’ all Mr. Sap over here. Sorry, Yug- where were we?”

“Joey, I’m...I’m so sorry,” Yugi managed, feeling terrible for not having something better to say. “I had no idea. Are you...I mean, do you guys…”

“I still go to visit her every Sunday,” Joey added quickly. “Actually, last weekend we started a tip jar- y’know, to help pay for...pay for her eye surgery.” His careless facade slipped for a moment, and Yugi felt his heart break at the hopeless expression on his friend’s face. “I put a twenty in there every time I go. I mean, it’s not much, but…” Here Joey’s smile lost a bit of the sad edge it had carried. “But she gets this hopeful look on her face, yanno? Best expression in the world, Yug, I’m tellin’ ya.” Yugi nodded, returning his friend’s smile as Joey wiped at the corner of his eye. “Yanno, Yugi,” Joey’s shoulders lifted at whatever thought was on his mind, making him look a little less deflated. “If you wanted to come with me tomorrow, I could introduce you two. Serenity’s big into those puzzle games you like!”

Yugi chuckled, glad to see Joey back to his puppy-dog self- then quickly felt a pang of guilt and disappointment settle in his stomach. “I’d love to, Joey, but Grandpa’s going out for a business trip this week and asked me to pick up a shift at the shop so he could pack.”

Joey, now seemingly invincible in a complete 180 from his previous demeanor, waved a hand as if to shoo away Yugi’s unspoken apology. “Whateva, man. There are a million other weekends, and Serenity’s not getting any less interested in puzzles. Believe me, I’ve tried.” He flashed Yugi a reassuring grin. “We’ll just go next Sunday. It’ll give me a chance to give her some warning.”

“Hey!”

Joey laughed, taking Yugi’s light shoulder-punch in stride. “Whatever, dweeb.” He reached for the controller again and Yugi snapped back to the TV, not wanting to miss a beat in their still-frozen fight to the death. “Enough about my sad backstory for the day. Say, Yug, whatever happened with that one pyramid puzzle you had?”

  
  


“I just don’t know, Tea,” Yugi groaned, head in his hands, slumped over the table. “It seems like no matter what combination I try, I just can’t figure out how that puzzle piece should look!”

“Amazing,” she rolled her eyes, shrugging lightly to adjust the way her dusty pink peplum coat sat on her shoulders. Sitting in the school cafeteria late on a Monday morning, she looked more like the host of a morning talk show than a highschooler. “I can’t believe Yugi Moto, puzzle-solver extraordinaire, finally found a puzzle he can’t solve in two days. All it took was excavating the tomb of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh.” She bit off the end of a french fry, rolling her eyes. “Really getting stumped by the easy stuff, huh, Yugi?”

“I guess when you put it that way, it sounds ridiculous,” he admitted, resting his chin in the cup of his hand. “I mean, this puzzle hasn’t been solved for hundreds of years. Thousands, probably. Who am I to think I’m going to solve it in my lifetime? According to grandpa, it’s crazy enough that I even got as far as I have.”

“Hey, no talking like that!” Tea chided with a gentle  _ thwap _ to his shoulder that felt (to his gratitude) more restrained than usual. “C’mon, that brain of yours has solved every puzzle it’s seen since you were in elementary school. You’ve come this far; you’re bound to figure something out eventually. And, hey,” her voice dropped into a softer tone, “whichever  _ ancient king  _ or whatever who solved it last also had that other piece. You’ve done more than most people have for centuries. Don’t get so down on yourself.”

Yugi sighed, picking up his plastic fork and poking at a limp-looking chicken nugget. It slid freely on the green plastic tray, leaving a trail of grease that looked a little too thick to be natural. “I guess you’re right. I just haven’t been this  _ frustrated  _ with a puzzle in years. I’ve been trying to figure out what that middle piece should look like- you know, so some of Grandpa’s friends in the research field could try to make a replica. But so far...no luck.”

Tea stood, daintily smoothing out her grey pencil skirt and picking up her own empty lunch tray. “Well, think about it this way, Yugi. Once you’ve solved that puzzle, you’re never gonna find one you won’t be able to take apart and put back together blindfolded.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “I guess. Thanks, Tea.”

“Whatever, dork,” she rolled her eyes, brushing past him towards the trash cans. “I’m gonna go get a chocolate muffin. I’m getting you one, too, and then you’re teaching me how to play chess. There’s a cute guy in my Fashion Design class I’m trying to impress.” She ruffled his hair and he laughed, batting her hands away.

“How am I supposed to do that?” He called after her, watching her click purposefully away in her favorite brown high-heeled boots.

“Pocket Chess!” She dismissed his question with a casual wave, not even bothering to look back his way. Yugi chuckled and shook his head, low mood from just minutes prior dissolved. Tea had a funny way of doing that- she had a funny way of calling him stupid for feeling stupid, and an even funnier way of making it completely reverse the fact that he had ever felt stupid. He didn’t even notice he was smiling until he turned to dig in his backpack for his travel-sized chess set- a stocking stuffer from Grandpa in freshman year that he was guilty of keeping with him at most times of the day. He wasn’t sure when Tea had found out about it, since he’d only ever played a game or two with Ryou, but he guessed that was just another one of Tea’s mysterious ways.

Yugi was nearly finished setting up the game board- a dinky, plastic set colored green and white, since Yugi had learned a long time ago that high school was no place for nice things- when the shifting sound and telling weight across the table told him Tea had returned, ideally having successfully snagged two chocolate muffins.

“Hey Tea! Ready to learn how to-  _ oh. _ ”

Two deep scarlet eyes sparkled with amusement. “I think you might have me confused with someone else,” replied a deep baritone that sent jitters up Yugi’s spine.

“O-oh, um- sorry, I was waiting for my friend, I didn’t think-” oh god, his face was  _ warm,  _ there was no way he wasn’t a firetruck right now; if only he hadn’t been completely caught off guard-

“It’s no trouble; I should really be the one apologizing. I don’t imagine you were expecting someone to drop in on your table uninvited like this,” Atem replied smoothly. Yugi felt himself swallow nervously. He prayed it wasn’t obvious.

“No, not at all,” he managed to keep his voice firm and even through some miracle. Yugi resolved he would count all of his lucky stars later and thank each one of them personally. “I just-”  _ wasn’t expecting you to appear out of nowhere like some incredibly polite trickster god hell-bent on letting me embarrass myself-  _ “didn’t know you had the same lunch hour. Atem, right?”

The question might as well have been rhetorical. Yugi hadn’t been able to keep the name out of his mind. Still, Atem nodded evenly, sending him a subtle yet pleased-looking smile that Yugi was pretty sure could have sent him into cardiac arrest. “You remembered. I have to say, I wasn’t sure I’d made the best impression the last time we saw one another. I suppose this is a little nicer than our last encounter.”

It wasn’t funny. The words Atem had spoken weren’t humerous at all. And yet, Yugi found light, giddy laughter bubbling from his chest, coming up in a small burst of what he  _ hoped  _ didn’t sound like giggling to Atem. He couldn’t help himself. This whole situation just felt... _ unreal.  _ Maybe it was the surprise, maybe Yugi had just gone crazy; the adrenaline feeling that was making his heart do a fantastic hummingbird impression was still there, his face still glowing with warmth in a way that was definitely making his cheekbones burn red, but somehow his nervousness had vanished.

“I think I definitely prefer this,” Yugi found himself saying. “It’s better than dropping everything I own in the middle of a hallway, that’s for sure.”

It was Atem’s turn to laugh; a rich, pleasant sound that made Yugi’s face burn a little brighter. “It was certainly an event the last time we ran into each other.” There was a pause, and Atem’s eyes widened in an unfairly adorable look of surprise. “Wait, I didn’t mean-”

Yugi was already laughing, surprising himself with how relaxed he suddenly was around Atem. After a few moments he caught himself, still smiling as he sighed happily and pulled himself together. “I guess that’s one way to put it,” he chuckled, stopping short when he met Atem’s eyes. Atem was smiling at him with an unreadable expression, composed as ever in a way that made him seem almost regal. Something in the pit of Yugi’s stomach fluttered. He swallowed reflexively.

“You know,” Atem began after a moment’s pause Yugi wasn’t aware was happening, “I’m flattered that you remembered my name after such a brief encounter, but I’m afraid I still haven’t gotten yours in return.” His eyes flicked down to something on the table. Only then did Yugi remember he’d set up an entire chess board before this whole encounter had started. “Tell you what- I’d like to play you for it.”

Yugi’s brain, which apparently had decided it was only going to work when it wanted to, registered these words several beats too late. “Play...me?”

“If that’s alright,” Atem added with such genuine respect that Yugi took a moment to realize he was indicating the chess board with a hand, wordlessly asking to move it between them. Yugi wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but even after their last encounter he still found himself surprised at how much of a gentleman this total stranger apparently was.

“Oh, uh- yeah, that’s fine,” he spluttered. “I don’t think I follow- what exactly did you want to play me for?”

“Well, I couldn’t help but notice that we’re a little imbalanced,” Atem was saying. He moved a white pawn two spaces forward. Yugi did the same with a green one. “You have my name, but I’m afraid I still don’t have yours. Tell you what,” he continued, moving another pawn forward twice. “If I win, I get the pleasure of knowing your name and perhaps seeing you again at lunch tomorrow. If you win…” He glanced down at the board and Yugi followed his gaze, realizing he was holding one of Atem’s white pawns. He’d captured it without even realizing. They both glanced up from the board, eyes meeting. Atem smiled. Yugi gulped. “If you win, I’ll let you decide what happens. That is,” Atem’s lips pulled up into what could only be described as a smirk, “ _ if  _ you win.” Now one of Yugi’s pawns was on Atem’s side, and Yugi realized he’d made the mistake of letting his pawn get captured by a rook.

“Oh- alright,” Yugi found himself grinning, not even noticing he was still playing as he pushed a new pawn forward one square. “And don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because I only learned your name last week,” he amended, allowing one of his pawns to be captured so he could block the forthcoming attack with his knight.

Atem chuckled again, pushing his bishop out behind his rook. Yugi frowned, realizing Atem could put his king in check in two moves. He pushed his knight out to block the attack. “You know,” Atem began, moving another piece, “I don’t think I’ve run into anyone else at this school who thinks chess is a fun source of lunchtime entertainment.” He punctuated this with a meaningful look that met Yugi’s eyes. Yugi was too aware that the warmth in his face hadn’t receded.

“My grandpa got me this set for Christmas a few years ago. He thought it might be a good way for me to make friends.” As soon as the words left Yugi’s mouth, he winced, realizing how sad that must have sounded. “Not that I didn’t have...I mean, it was just a nice way to find people with common interest-”

“It looks like it worked out well,” Atem said understandingly. “Your friend who was just here looked like she’d make a worthy opponent.” Something in the way he said that made Yugi’s heart glow as bright as his face. It was such a minor compliment, but Yugi immediately found himself picturing Atem as the gentlemanly type- he’d respect Yugi’s friends and hold doors open for women, take in a stray cat, surprise Yugi on their anniversary-

“Oh, Tea? Yeah, she’s really smart. She’s never played chess before, but I’m excited to watch her learn. She picks up on these things like they’re nothing.” It was true; part of what had brought Yugi and Tea so close so quickly had been her interest in trying new things and being really,  _ really  _ good at them. She’d been genuinely curious about whatever new game Yugi brought to school that week- puzzles, mancala, checkers- and had proved herself to be a natural early on. Of course, they both could admit Yugi was the better strategist overall, but that didn’t mean Tea couldn’t give him a fun match from time to time.

“Then it sounds like you have more fun in store today. Although, I have to admit,” Atem’s lips pulled up at the corners; a very slight expression that caught somewhere between a smirk and an amused smile, “I’m going to be disappointed when this match is over. I haven’t had a game this fun in some time. By the way-” he pushed a rook dangerously close to Yugi’s king, “I believe that’s check.”

Yugi glanced down at the board in alarm, realizing he’d been paying less and less attention to the game at hand. He sighed in relief after a moment’s pause, moving a bishop to capture the offending tower. Atem’s lips turned down into something that  _ could  _ have been a pout. “Well hey, if you’re ever in the mood for a rematch, I’ll never say no!” Yugi beamed, earning himself another unreadable expression.

“Of course,” Atem replied, surveying the chess board carefully. “I’ll be sure to take you up on that. Friday, perhaps?”

“Sure,” Yugi agreed, taking another white pawn without entirely registering what Atem had just said. “I’m here all week!” This earned him another heartstopping laugh.

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” Atem chuckled. Their game continued in silence for a few moments, both players intently focused on the board. After a pause, Atem added, “I don’t suppose you’re into any card games as well, are you?”

“Well...yes and no,” Yugi hesitated. “I’m not really a fan of the ones that rely on luck, but I’ll play them with Joey- er, my friend, Joey- every now and then. There is one…” his ears turned pink at the memory of the Dark Magician Girl poster he still had hanging in his bedroom, “But I’m not sure I’d call it a...card game? It’s a little...unconventional.”

“That wouldn’t be Magic: The Gathering, would it?” Atem asked, catching Yugi by complete surprise. There was just  _ no way  _ Atem could be a nerd on top of everything else. That would just be astronomically unfair of the universe to throw at Yugi. “I have a deck of my own, but I can’t say I play all too often.”

“It’s similar,” Yugi explained awkwardly. “I mean, they’ve got a really similar strategy. It’s kind of...the hipster version?”

This earned a laugh that sent Atem’s well-formed,  _ god, too well-formed,  _ shoulders lightly shaking up and down. “Hipster Magic: The Gathering. That’s certainly a new one.”

It did sound ridiculous, parroted back to him like that. “It’s more fun than it sounds,” he explained, finding himself grinning like a complete dope.

“I’m not sure how that could be possible,” Atem was beaming right back at him. It took Yugi a moment to realize the game had stopped. When he looked down, he realized why.

“Oh- checkmate!”

“I was wondering when you’d notice,” Atem smiled. “I suppose this means you win our bet. Perhaps I’ll finally learn what to call you on Friday,” and Yugi didn’t have the brainpower to wonder what he meant by that at the moment because the reality was setting in that  _ oh god, Hot Stranger Atem just challenged me to chess and was funny and kind and possibly a geek and- _

“Yugi!” came a voice from behind him that snapped him out of his reverie.  _ Tea,  _ he thought to himself; he’d completely forgotten that she’d gone to get them snacks. He glanced over his shoulder to find Tea approaching the table from the other side of the cafeteria- when had she gotten all the way over there?- giving the newcomer a curious look.

“Well,” Atem stood, shouldering his backpack. Only now did Yugi realize that Atem’s shirt- a purple, loose, sleeveless thing that showed too much of Atem’s sides for Yugi’s brain to function- was emblazoned with a dark line-art icosahedron, the bolded number 20 clear on the front face. Oh  _ god.  _ “I guess this means there were two winners today after all. I believe I still owe you your prize of choice,” he added with another smirk, this one looking  _ sly  _ in a way that did bad things to Yugi’s higher function. “Think about it over the week; I look forward to hearing what you come up with.” He glanced over Yugi’s shoulder and back, expression giving away something warm, inviting,  _ friendly _ , even. “Until then, I suppose I’ll see you on Friday. See you around, Yugi,” he finished with a cool half-wave, turning in the direction of a mostly unoccupied table across the cafeteria.

Yugi’s mind felt like a firework caught in a freeze-frame. His jaw hung slightly open as he watched Atem walk away, hand in the back pocket of his jeans like nothing in the world could bother him.

“Uh, Yugi?” A hand waved in front of his face. “Y _ uuu _ gi? Sorry it took so long; the chocolate muffin line was longer than usual. I guess we aren’t the only ones who live exclusively for the Monday Muffins,” Tea sighed, planting herself once more in the seat beside him. “Anyway, I also grabbed us drinks, because why the hell not- Yugi, are you still alive in there? Who  _ was  _ that guy? And what did he mean about Friday?”

Yugi blinked, still wide-eyed as he turned to his friend. Tea was looking at him with folded arms and raised eyebrows, pushing a Sprite can in front of him. “Tea...that was him,” Yugi explained, sounding about as awed as he felt. “That was  _ Atem.  _ And- oh, god, Tea,  _ Friday _ ,” he groaned, face flushing with renewed vigor as he folded his arms on the table and buried his head as far as it would go.  “Hph- uhh hhik uh shus goh ahhsd oh uh dahh-”

“Yugi,” Tea rolled her eyes, “I can’t understand a word you’re saying; you can’t talk to me through a muffler and expect it to work.”

“Tea,” he groaned, sitting up straight again, “ _ I think I just got asked on a date. _ ”

Tea’s soda can popped open with a harsh  _ TSS. _

“Tell me everything,” she commanded, taking a sip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for sticking around! Didn't mean for there to be such a hiatus- been a crazy few months. But I'm alive!
> 
> Something I've noticed with AO3, as much as I love this website, is that it can be a bit of a bugger with how I like to upload, so if you notice any minor editing/formatting issues just let me know and I"ll go back and edit. I try to proofread, but there's always some typos that just slip through the cracks.
> 
> I've really enjoyed hearing from all of you these past few chapters. You guys' support has really kept me going in this story, and it's been fun getting to know a few of you over time. As always, I appreciate feedback! :)
> 
> I guess I don't have too much to say this time. I have the next several chapters planned out, so hopefully these next few should be smoother sailing! Chapter 5 will ideally be up within the month!
> 
> But in the meantime, feel free to say hello :)
> 
> (send some love on tumblr!: anonymous-lizard)


	5. the note on the locker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's no telling what will come of Friday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm making these notes quick, but I wanted to let you guys know that this chapter contains an offensive slur. It's only used once, about midway through the chapter, but I wanted to warn you all in case this is something triggering to anyone.  
> I also want to mention that I don't at all support this word being used, but I wanted to use it in the chapter to highlight the problems that come with it.  
> If the way I used it offends anybody, please, PLEASE send me a message and I can see about changing that part of the story.  
> Thank you all! xx

Tea Gardner knew she was many things. Ever since seventh grade, when every popular girl decided you needed to hate at least three things about your body to fit in, Tea had made a point to know every good thing about herself. She knew she was on the skinnier side, but what was there was all muscle. Her hair liked to frizz but it was a rich, dark brown you couldn’t get out of a bottle.

She was sassy, but she never let someone get away with talking about her friends in a way they wouldn’t like.

Some people said it got to her head sometimes. Tea could never find it in herself to care. Once, in freshman year, Lincoln Douglas’ star quarterback had approached her after a football game to tell her she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He was a senior, and it didn’t matter what circle you were in; you’d probably heard his name. To this day, the upperclassmen of the football team still knew the stories of his conquests on the field; Tristan and Joey could recite verbatim how he’d won the homecoming game down to his every footstep. The school treated him like a hero. He’d graduated with a 2.5 GPA and a full-ride scholarship to Stanford.

Of course, fifteen-year-old Tea, young and pretty and already promising as a cheerleader, had been let into the lines of gossip early-on. It was all the girls on the cheer team would talk about- Josh Summers had a new girlfriend week by week; Josh Summers made fun of fat freshmen on his Twitter; Josh Summers once humiliated a girl so bad in front of the whole school that she’d cried on the way home and dropped out the next week. And as if he was just born to have no redeeming qualities, Josh Summers was only passing his classes because his football coach had ways to bribe the underpaid, overworked teachers that had the misfortune of teaching Josh Summers.

So when Josh Summers cornered Tea on the football field and made a show out of telling her things she already knew, Tea was interested in nothing but turning her nose up and walking away.

She’d known, even at fifteen, that this would be the death of her social status at Lincoln Douglas.

The reaction was almost instantaneous. It couldn’t have been more than a week later before the once-friendly halls of high school turned the cold shoulder on Tea. That was the problem with the popular kids: Everyone hated them, but everyone listened to them, and Josh Summers had had a lot to say about Tea.

The first day was easy; nobody seemed to look her in the eye. There was no doubt in Tea’s mind that Josh Summers and the football team had promised to make the life of whoever talked to her a living hell. Really, she could only blame everyone else so much. She rolled her eyes, shrugged her shoulders and reminded herself that she’d signed up for this.

Then, though, came the whispering. It wasn’t loud enough to notice, at first, but then small herds of freshmen and sophomore girls were hiding behind their hands whenever she walked by. She couldn’t ask for a pencil in class without getting a weird look from someone, like she was a member of an alien species and she was the only one who thought she looked like a human. Passing glances in the hallway were suddenly too casual, like there was some big secret she hadn’t been let in on.

Cold shoulder? Whatever. Weird looks? Fine. Whispers? Easy.

And then someone went further.

Burning red letters in still-sticky paint dripped solemnly down the front of her locker, almost apologetic in their own right.

_ WHORE. _

Calmly, she opened her locker, switched out her textbooks, and went to third period.

The letters on her locker never happened again. Tea could only guess the artist had been trying for a reaction, or maybe been put up to it by some kind of dare. But the looks, the whispers, and the subtly obvious changes in how people treated her continued well into her sophomore year. There was no more chatter in the locker rooms before cheer, no more friendly waves from the other team members as they passed in the hallway, and magically it seemed only the coach ever complimented her form anymore. Somehow, freshmen with no experience were being put at the top of the pyramid, and tryouts were saved only by her past experience on the team. 

Once, a rather scruffy, gangly senior, known for the way he would harass freshmen girls online, asked if she would sleep with him. She’d turned him down, reeling in disgust, and felt something in her gut clench and sink at his response.

_ “Fuck, bitch, you’ll sleep with everyone but me?” _

About halfway through her sophomore year, the teasing finally subsided as the perpetrators graduated out and left behind a group of underclassmen who, without seniors to goad them on, eventually lost interest. By then, though, the damage to Tea’s social standing at Lincoln Douglas was irreparable. She’d been robbed of her chance to join the cliques around the school and by then, all the doors were closed. Tea didn’t care. She made a point not to. Solidarity was better than fake friends, anyway.

But her strong, well-founded apathy wasn’t without practice. Behind every day of squared shoulders and pointed glaring was night after night of angry tears, muffling shrill screams of frustration into whatever pillow she could find, and hating the redness in her swollen eyes and damp cheeks as she asked herself the same question over and over again in the bathroom mirror:  _ Why, why, why me? _

Eventually, the answer became clear: High school was vicious. Vicious and unforgiving, to say the least. But it was also temporary, and almost over. She wouldn’t let them win.

Needless to say, Tea Gardner knew a thing or two about bullying. She knew what it looked like, and she knew how it could make a person feel.

She knew it then, and she knew it now. The knew it that Thursday.

She knew it right away when she found Yugi curled up against the back of the school, breath ragged and terrified, eyes red and swollen and wide with fear.

It was written all over his face.

  
  


Since seeing Atem at lunch, Yugi’s week had been the most exciting and excruciatingly slow one of his entire life. The three days separating Monday and Friday stretched on  _ hours  _ longer than they needed to. Normally Yugi couldn’t get enough of his classes, but even he was finding it hard to focus. His teachers had noticed, too- his fifth period teacher, Mr. Stouffer, had stopped him on the way out the door on Wednesday to ask if he was feeling alright. Yugi had felt his face warm at the comment. He’d been so flustered, he couldn’t even remember the blurted response he’d given, only to rush out the door as soon as he was able.

Yugi knew it was ridiculous, but he was even finding it hard to sleep at night, which helped his predicament even less. He could toss and turn for hours no matter how tired he’d been before laying down, only to find himself dreaming of hair that was all too similar to his on a face that he hadn’t seen enough of. During school, he couldn’t focus; at night, he couldn’t sleep; in-between...it was a lost cause. Yugi had fallen into a routine of sitting down, pulling out homework, standing up after about fifteen distracted minutes, fidgeting with the puzzle for a few more, finding himself unable to focus, lather, rinse, repeat. He knew he was acting like a schoolgirl, but he couldn’t help himself. This wasn’t his  _ first  _ crush, per se, but...it was probably the biggest.

The arrival of Thursday was both a blessing and a curse. Although Yugi knew this was the last day standing between himself and something- well, he wasn’t completely sure what, but something  _ exciting _ \- he knew today would be his longest one yet.

There didn’t seem to be enough in the day to keep him occupied. He shot out of bed an hour before his alarm, and couldn’t even find it in himself to be mad about losing sleep. After a very strained fifteen minutes of toiling over the puzzle some more, still in pajamas and kicking his heels against his fuzzy house slippers, Yugi finally caved into his growing agitation and instead decided he would start his morning routine.

Within thirty minutes he was dressed, his hair combed up and gelled a little too well, and busy in the kitchen finding something to bring for lunch. He hadn’t been the most consistent about taking food to school this year- his sleep schedule by this point was beyond repair, and didn’t leave much room for an early wake-up, so the thought of bringing something tasty to look forward to until the lunch hour was mundanely exciting. Yugi hummed as he rummaged through half-empty chip bags on the middle shelf of the pantry, digging his way through Chip-Clips and half-rolled plastic. Maybe he’d treat himself and bring a soda today, too. Soda sounded good.

A warm feeling flooded his chest for the third time that morning.  _ The lunch hour.  _ Atem.  _ Everything  _ sounded good today.

“My, my; looks like someone’s had a good morning.” Yugi shook himself from his dreamlike reverie as the gruff voice of Solomon Moto greeted him from the doorway. Yugi turned to smile at his grandpa, finding the squat, easygoing man leaned against the door frame, smiling in the way the lines on his face said he always did. Grandpa’s archaeological trip had been canceled during his layover a few states away, and he’d been home days sooner than expected. It was disappointing for both of them, but Yugi had to admit their home just wasn’t the same without Grandpa there to share it.

After a moment’s pause, Solomon’s face dropped. “Now wait a moment- has your old man missed something again? I’ve been so careful not to sleep through any life-changing revelations!”

Yugi giggled, moving to hug his grandpa good morning. Even compared to Yugi, Grandpa Moto was still rather stout- although, Yugi’s high school growth spurt hadn’t helped. “No, Grandpa,” Yugi greeted him. “Not this time.”

“Well, it must be something important,” Solomon continued, his rough hands giving Yugi a squeeze on the shoulders before letting his grandson lead him to the kitchen island. “You’ve been humming again! I can’t say I’ve heard that one in a while. Come on, get an old man in the loop,” he winked at Yugi, who chuckled and shook his head as he turned back to shelling out a school day’s worth of potato chips into a small baggie.

“There’s nothing going on, grandpa,” he insisted. “I’m just excited to see my friends today.”

There was a moment of silence that followed Yugi’s statement, and Yugi could feel his grandpa’s eyes on his back. Then, with almost measured casualness, “Are you sure it’s not a special someone, Yugi?”

“What?” Yugi straightened in surprise with such force that the bag of chips slipped out of his hands and spilled all over the counter, leaving chip fragments and potato dust to be swept up. Hurriedly he began sweeping the offending snacks back into their bag with a cupped hand, praying he looked at least somewhat casual. “W-What makes you say that, Grandpa?”

Solomon’s hearty chuckle made Yugi’s cheeks redden even more. “A grandpa never reveals his secrets, Yugi,” he chided, “Although, I can’t say I’ve seen you in this kind of mood since your little crush on Tea a few years ago-”

“Grandpa!” Yugi protested, sending his grandpa a despairing look that only earned him another laugh. Conceding that his face would never return to normal, Yugi sighed and went back to organizing his lunch for the day. “It’s not- it’s not really like that.” He realized his tone was verging on serious, but the thought of explaining Atem to Grandpa was making his gut clench in a far less pleasant way than before. 

Whenever the thought came up, Yugi would chide himself for being so nervous. He’d never heard Grandpa say a negative word about anybody, except for the bullies at school and the son of the owner of their competing game shop. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to be anything  _ but  _ nervous. He reassured himself, whenever the thought of confronting the subject became too nerve-wracking, that he would bring it up to Grandpa when he himself had a better understanding of the situation.

_ If  _ that ever happened.

Grandpa chuckled and shook his head, and Yugi heard the scrape of a chair and the  _ pat  _ of two bare feet hitting the floor as Grandpa moved to make his morning coffee. “Of course it isn’t, Yugi,” he gave his grandson a passing clap on the shoulder as he moved past Yugi towards their old but dutiful Keurig. “But if it ever  _ does  _ become like that, just remember to tell your old Gramps all about it. I’m already behind on whatever slang you kids are using these days; I certainly don’t need to be behind on my own grandson, too.”

If there was one thing Yugi always underestimated about his own grandfather, it was the man’s ability to  _ know  _ things. Maybe it was generational wisdom, but Yugi couldn’t help but feel like Grandpa knew more than he was letting on. Still, at Grandpa’s words, Yugi felt something clench in the pit of his stomach- guilt, although he wasn’t sure exactly why he felt it. He wasn’t really  _ hiding  _ anything- was he?

“I will, grandpa.” Yugi sighed, closing the Ziploc baggie and placing it gingerly on top of the rest of his lunch contents- he’d thrown together a sandwich, a plastic-sealed cup of applesauce, and decided on snagging some Oreos that Grandpa insisted he didn’t buy for himself (and yet somehow would vanish while Yugi was away at school). “If anything happens I’ll be sure to let you know.”

“Good boy,” Grandpa nodded. “Now, why don’t you let an old man make his grandson some breakfast while you finish getting ready for the day?”

Having lived with his grandpa long enough to know there was no sense in arguing, Yugi sent his grandfather a grateful smile before pecking him on the cheek and hopping back upstairs to- well, he wasn’t sure, but  _ something _ to kill his time until he had to leave.

After straightening his sheets and checking his bag more than twice to make sure he had everything, he finally settled on fidgeting with his puzzle until Grandpa called him down for breakfast.

And, lo and behold, he actually managed to fit some of the pieces together.

Today was just that kind of day.

 

Grandpa wasn’t the only one to notice Yugi’s particularly cheerful attitude that day.

“Yugi, speaking entirely as your friend and completely out of love, I have to tell you that you’re a veritable weirdo,” Tea remarked on the walk to school that morning. “I think I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve ever seen you listen to music, but you’ve been humming since we left your house. I was starting to think I needed to get my ears checked.” She punctuated her last sentence with a playful punch on the shoulder that made Yugi chuckle, then grimace as he moved to rub a hand over the sore spot it left. “I’d ask what’s got you all cheerful today, but I’m gonna say I have a pretty good guess.”

Yugi felt himself turn pink, but knew it wasn’t worth denying. “I guess I’m just excited, is all,” he explained. “I mean- I don’t think tomorrow is a  _ date  _ or anything. I don’t!” He repeated at a look from Tea. “I mean...I don’t really know if he’s... _ interested, _ ” he finished lamely. 

When Tea spoke she did so casually, but there was a softer edge to her tone that told him she understood this was about more than just interest. That was something Yugi liked about Tea: She always understood. “Well Yugi, I guess the only way to really find out if he’s  _ interested  _ is to put yourself out there and see.”

“I guess,” he sighed, moving to fidget with his hair for the nth time before Tea slapped his hands away. “I just wish it didn’t have to be  _ tomorrow.  _ That’s so far away!”

Tea giggled. “Well, hey, think of it this way,” she put a hand on his shoulder that felt a little too mocking to be comforting, “You can think of it as practice time.”

She only laughed when Yugi groaned and returned her earlier punch with his own playful shove.

 

Just as Yugi predicted, the school day seemed to drag on painstakingly for hours longer than it needed to. World History was another video day, and Yugi found himself glancing over at the clock every five minutes. Twice Joey shot him questioning looks over his fidgeting, but Yugi just dismissed his texts with a quick  _ I’ll explain later. It’s complicated.  _ Joey, though clearly not going to let the subject slide, accepted the rain check with a shrug and slid his favorite pair of sunglasses back down over his eyes. Moments later his jaw went slack, his snoring barely audible under the crackling of the VHS.

Yugi loved that about Joey.

Even lunch seemed to take forever- although, Yugi couldn’t help but laugh a little louder at Tristan and Joey’s usual antics, egging them on to Tea’s dismay. Joey would say something, Tristan would call him stupid for it, and the two would wind up in a wrestling match that attracted a lot of odd looks from around the lunch room. Yugi would find himself in stitches while Tea huffed and rolled her eyes dramatically, only to catch his eye as he calmed down and shake her head with a fond smile.

Finally, as Yugi sat in his History of Language class, sketching in the corner of his notebook after finishing the pop quiz early, the last bell of the day signaled the official end of the school day. Yugi tried to restrain himself from leaping out of his seat, telling himself that less time at school just meant more time stuck at home, struggling to kill time. Still, he couldn’t stop the skip in his step as he turned his paper in, beaming at his teacher who returned his cheer with the dejected sigh of a man resigned to grading for the rest of the evening.

The walk to his locker seemed to stretch on forever. Yugi had given himself a minute to lag behind in the classroom, putting his things away slowly to avoid the after-school crowds all going in different directions, not wanting a repeat of the last several times he’d been shoulder-checked in hallways. He had a feeling they wouldn’t end up nearly as exciting this time around.

It was as he turned the corner into the hallway that housed his locker that he noticed something out of place. On one of the lockers- it would have to be one close to his, at first glance- had something taped to it. It looked like...a folded piece of paper?

His heart began to pound as he drew closer, unconsciously walking a little more forcefully to quickly close the gap between himself and this mysterious paper. There was no mistaking it; the note was taped to  _ his  _ locker. It looked like it had been torn from a spiral-bound notebook, one of the college-rule ones someone could use to take notes in, and folded sloppily as though done in a rush. Whoever had taped it here hadn’t wanted to be seen doing it; it was starting to come unfolded even as it hung there, sending Yugi’s heart pounding so fast he could feel a numbing excitement settle into the pit of his stomach.  _ Could it be…? _

Standing before his locker felt like standing in front of the wall of a Great Pyramid. It was all he could do to stop himself from gaping as he suddenly felt three inches tall, his locker seeming to stretch upwards for miles. He swallowed, checking up and down the hallway. By now it was mostly empty, with a few odd pockets of students still meandering their way to the busses or out the doors. Whoever could have left it was long gone, Yugi realized, and tried not to let himself feel too disappointed at the thought. It didn’t have to be Atem, he reminded himself with a steadying exhale. It could have been someone else entirely.

He really hoped it was Atem.

With trembling, cold fingers, Yugi reached up and gingerly peeled the tape away from the yielding grey metal of his locker door. He took another breath, letting it out as slow as he could.  _ It doesn’t have to be him,  _ he reminded himself.  _ It could be anyone. Anyone. Anyone. _

He peeled the tape from the paper as carefully as he could, trying not to damage the outside of the note. He knew he was being ridiculous, but  _ still. _

Slowly, he undid the folds of the paper, at last managing to pull it all the way open. He turned it over in his hands.

All joy he could have felt throughout the day vanished. His stomach turned to stone and his knees felt too weak to support the weight. His chest clenched. He couldn’t breathe right. He sank to the ground, trying not to gasp for air around the lump that was forcing its way painfully up his throat. All the excitement from moments ago had been stopped entirely by bold, scribbled black letters on the page. 

_ FAG _ .

 

“Yugi…” Was all Tea said when she found him, having pried the note from his grasp and read it herself.

“Tea,” Yugi gasped, pulling his knees further into his chest, “How could they- how could they know? I haven’t-” A wet sob yanked itself from his throat as he swallowed and tried to breathe, wiping his eyes. “I haven’t told anyone- how could they-  _ you  _ haven’t told anyone-” He tried to regain his composure as much as he could, wiping at his eyes and trying to steady his breath, but the gasps were coming too quickly and the tears wouldn’t stop. “I don’t even  _ know _ , Tea, so how could someone else?”

“Yugi,” She knelt down beside him on the concrete, and he let her put a hand on his shoulder and pull him in for a half-hug. Her other hand went to his hair, stroking it gently like a mother would a crying child. Yugi let himself sob into her shoulder, the fear ebbing away into distress. “Yugi, it’s going to be okay. There’s no way they could know. They might have just picked that word by chance- oh, Yugi, I’m so sorry,” she sighed, pulling him in closer.

Although he knew she was right, he didn’t feel better. “Tea- why would someone…” He sniffled and gasped a few more times, evening out his breathing enough to calm himself a little more. “Why would someone just  _ do  _ this?”

“I don’t know, Yugi,” she told him, and he could hear in her voice that she was holding back tears, as well. Whether they were sympathetic or angry was hard to say. Yugi shifted awkwardly, freeing his arms from between himself and Tea to return her hug. 

As soon as he’d been able to stand again, he’d grabbed his things and ran out to the back of the school, knowing it would give him at least  _ some  _ privacy from passerby so he could at least break down without causing a scene. Tea had texted to ask where he was, and in his panic he’d only managed to send back one word:  _ bleachers. _

So now, here they sat, curled into one another and holding on for dear life, surrounded by old gum that had become a permanent part of the asphalt and Sharpie graffiti spelling expletives only a high schooler could dream up. Yugi shivered in the cold as Tea’s hand moved back to comb through his hair again. As his breathing evened out again and the tear tracks on his face ran cold, he hoped he never took for granted just how much Tea meant to him.

He wasn’t sure what he would do without her.

 

On the other side of the bleachers, a dark overcoat was pulled tighter around skinny shoulders.  _ Damn this cold weather.  _ He fidgeted with the buttons for a moment, eventually shoving his hands deep into the pockets at his sides.  _ Damn it all. _

Amon Bakura wasn’t one to believe in luck. He was far less one to believe in things like  _ destiny. _ Still, he’d be lying to himself if he didn’t think the timing was convenient.

He’d stepped out of the way of the herds of obnoxious underclassmen and arrogant seniors to breathe. He wasn’t in a rush to get home. Besides, Marik would be getting out of whichever club he had occupied himself with today shortly. He could never keep track- at different points he’d been told of floral design, fashion, dance, and- though he could have dreamt this- cheer. He’d learned long ago it wasn’t worth the effort to try to keep track of. Marik would be happy to see he’d waited, regardless.

So, he’d stepped out by the empty bleachers to enjoy a moment of tranquility.

A bloody  _ freezing  _ moment of tranquility.

It had been nice enough, until the sound of heavy sobs cut through the fresh air like a blunted knife. Bakura had been moments from huffing in displeasure and retreating back inside when, from the corner of his eye through the tunnel that formed the underside of the bleachers, he’d recognized the one making all the noise.

As far as he was aware, there were exactly two students in Lincoln Douglas High School who styled their hair in the most ridiculous, clashing, styleless way Bakura had ever seen. And they did it almost exactly the same way.

It wasn’t hard to tell which one this was.

Let hubris be the downfall of man, Bakura thought, but curiosity was getting the better of him. He moved so that the bleacher steps would block him from view. He think he recognized the girl that was there, too- Trisha? Tina? He was certain Marik had mentioned her being in one of his clubs. Maybe knitting. She looked like a knitter.

“Tea, why would someone  _ do  _ this?” The boy was saying. 

Tea. That was her name.

Bakura shook his head.  _ Priorities. _

So, it was bullying, then. Figures. It was probably some monkey-brained freshman who thought they were hysterical. Bakura found himself rapidly losing interest. Once again, he turned to move towards the doors of the school, when the boy spoke again.

“They...they called me a  _ fag.” _

Bakura paused.

_ Ah. _

So, the boy wasn’t just being bullied. There was a bit more to it than that.  _ Quite  _ a bit more, by the sound of it.

Well, that certainly changed things.

Haunching his coat up once more, Bakura turned for the final time towards the school doors with complete resolve. Marik would probably be on his way out by now, anyway.

And there was someone he needed to speak with.

 

“Yugi, what about this one?”

The evening found them holed up in Yugi’s room, sprawled on the floor and surrounded by Yugi’s homework and a small assortment of snacks they’d smuggled from the pantry. Grandpa had known Tea about as long as Yugi had, and over the past few years had grown more and more accustomed to having her appear at his house, unannounced. He hadn’t questioned when they’d both shown up, about half an hour later than they usually would, shivering from the cold and both looking a little red around the eyes. Instead, he’d waved them inside, made them tea, and told Tea she could sleep over if she wanted.

Yugi loved his Grandpa. He really did.

“Mm,” Yugi hummed a response from his place on the floor, laying on his stomach with his shins resting against the side of his bed. He scribbled down the answer to a math problem before looking over to where Tea sat, back leaning up against his bed beside him, scrutinizing something on her laptop screen.

“Here,” she turned it around so he could see. On the screen was the picture of a bleach-blonde model toting a dress; the kind that looked more like it was a shirt and a skirt rather than a one-piece outfit. Yugi never understood the appeal of having one or the other, but he could see why Tea might like it. The shirt was plain, and the skirt was decorated with realistic-looking rose designs. It wasn’t too flashy, but wasn’t overly simple, either.

“It looks nice, Tea,” he offered sincerely, turning back to his homework.

Behind him, she hummed. “You think? It’s not too... _ purposefully  _ nice?”

Yugi had no clue what she could have meant by that. “Uh,” he replied helpfully, “No, definitely not. It’s...just the right amount of nice.”

Tea seemed satisfied by this. She clicked something on the page- probably saving it for later. “How’s tux shopping going?”

“Um,” he offered again, having just finished showing his work on another problem. “About that-”

“Jeez, Yugi, homecoming is in, like, a week!” She huffed at him. “At this rate, those prices are gonna be through the roof!”

“Says the one who’s still dress shopping,” he retorted, lightly nudging her with his foot. She blanched dramatically, batting his foot away. “Didn’t you have some kind of plan for homecoming, anyway?”

“Absolutely,” she sighed, “right up until Miho got asked to the dance by someone else in our grade. I think she’s going with the guy from the host family she’s staying with- Duke something. I don’t think Tristan knows yet, but it kind of threw a wrench in things. Now it’s kind of an every-person-for-themselves idea,” she explained, closing out of several tabs and opening a new one. “I figure you and I could probably match, though I have no clue what Joey and Tristan are doing. I haven’t heard anything from them since I got the tickets. Oh well,” she sighed in defeat. “At least we’re all going.”

“I’ll still never understand how you did that,” Yugi replied as he started the last problem from the book.

He waited for a witty retort, but it didn’t happen. Instead, after a pause, Tea spoke softly. Seriously. “Hey, Yugi?”

Concerned, he turned to look at her. She was keeping her expression even, but he could tell, whatever this was, it was something that worried her. “What is it, Tea?”

“You know- tomorrow’s just a Friday. If you wanna take the day off, I can bring you your homework.” It was something she said almost casually, but with the slightest hint of concern. Coming from anyone else Yugi might have felt patronized. Coming from Tea, Yugi felt like he should be the one comforting her.

“I appreciate the offer, Tea,” Yugi replied, “But I’m okay. Really,” he reassured her when she opened her mouth to protest. “I was rattled, but...it wouldn’t help anything, y’know?”

She closed her mouth, nodding, the concerned expression not leaving her face. “Okay. I trust you on this, Yugi, and I totally get it, I just...I worry.” He nudged her with his foot again. In response, she pinched his big toe through his sock.

“OWW, Tea, why-”

“Stop making me worry, you nerd,” she scolded him. Yugi whined in protest, kicking his foot to dislodge her hand. Gracefully, she let him go without too much resistance.

“I don’t think that’s up to me,” Yugi retorted, not unkindly.

His sass earned him another toe pinch.

 

Friday morning was significantly less cheerful than Thursday had been.

For one thing, it was raining.  _ Hard.  _ Fall had finally decided to settle in for good, and brought with it a cold, dark, outright depressing morning to wake up to. Fortunately for Yugi, hanging out with Tea into the late hours of the night had jump-started his usual, completely ruined sleep schedule once more, so he hadn’t had to deal with too much of said morning.

It had also been fortunate that Grandpa had decided to sleep in that morning. Yugi couldn’t be sure, but he had a feeling Grandpa would have tried to ask him about what had happened yesterday.

It just wasn’t something he was ready to deal with. Not now, anyway.

This morning had to be positive. If it took everything he had, Yugi was determined to give today a positive twist.

Otherwise, he had no idea what it would turn out to be.

It helped when Tea greeted him at the door, put-together as usual but looking more on the tired side than normal, toting a see-through umbrella whose transparency would have been more effective were it not for the barely-risen sun. It helped when they walked to school together, cold but more dry than wet, laughing about stupid things and falling into comfortable silences. It helped when, as they walked into school, Yugi realized they were ten minutes earlier than they needed to be and Tea surprised him by treating him to hot cocoa from the school’s morning coffee stand.

It didn’t help when, though he’d been telling himself it would happen no matter what, lunch time rolled around.

It wasn’t that Yugi had changed his mind about Atem. Thinking about getting to spend time with Atem- real, quality time, where they could sit and laugh and get to know one another beyond meeting in passing- still excited Yugi to no end. But now, thinking about doing so in public…

It was hard to suppress the clench of fear that settled in his stomach at the thought. Tea could have been right; whoever had left the note on his locker could have just been looking for a word at random, and had no clue how meaningful it was.

But they also could have noticed how he’d been openly ogling Atem whenever they were near one another, or overheard him in class talking to Tea, or maybe Atem wasn’t actually interested and if Yugi got his hopes up it would lead to disaster, or-

He closed his locker, having retrieved his lunch box. It was lighter than it should have been, but for a lunch he’d thrown together in five minutes, it wasn’t bad.

With a sigh, Yugi leaned his forehead against the cold metal, as though the coolness would somehow quiet the thoughts spinning through his brain at light speed.

Or maybe, just maybe, there was something there with Atem, but Yugi knew he wasn’t brave enough to even think about making a move right now.

One small disaster at a time.

With a deep inhale, Yugi pulled himself away from the comfort of the quiet hallway and made his way towards the cafeteria.

Yugi wished he’d spent more time planning how today would go. He needed to see Atem; he knew that. It would be inconsiderate to vanish when they had...well, it was a really informal plan, but it was a plan. And there was  _ so much  _ going on that Atem just didn’t have any way of knowing about; there wasn’t any way Yugi could explain himself without sounding crazy.

At least lunch was destined to have one redeeming quality, he thought to himself with a sigh. Tea would be with him. She was great at sorting him out when his thoughts started to go off the rails. Maybe she could play wingman.

Somehow, the thought only served to make him more dejected. Tea would be a  _ great  _ wingman, if only there was anything to wingman at all.

He shook his head quickly, as though he could shake the negative thoughts from his head like a dog shooing water from its fur. What he needed more than anything was to keep up the positivity he’d been feeling over. If something was going to happen today, it wouldn’t do him any good to spend the whole time leading up to it sulking.

Tea would probably say the same thing, anyway.

_ Okay, Yugi, breathe.  _ The entrance to the cafeteria felt like standing next to an eight-foot tidal wave while standing on dry land. Just beyond the threshold he could see students loudly buzzing about, celebrating their free time before they had to return to the classroom, nobody taking notice of him in their rush to claim a table before all the good ones got taken.

Yugi inhaled deeply.  _ Here goes something, I guess. _ Squaring his shoulders, he stepped into the lunchroom.

“Yugi!”

Surprised, he turned to find Tea waving him over from a table in the corner. She’d already managed to assert herself enough to garner a completely empty, rather large circular lunch table near stacks of chairs that were lined up against the walls for lunchtime use. It was another Tea-branded mystery; usually the idea of puppy-guarding a completely empty table in a full cafeteria would be heresy, but she had managed to find one anyway. On another day he might have stopped to be incredulous, but today of all days he found himself grateful.

“Hey, Tea,” he sighed, falling into the seat beside her. “Impressive find.”

“Right? I had to pull some strings, but it all worked out.”

Yugi decided it would be better not to ask. “That’s great,” he replied, trying to put as much conviction into his tone as possible. All this earned him was an eyeroll.

“Yugi, you’re not fooling anybody here,” she gestured to the seats around the otherwise completely empty table. “It’s totally okay to be nervous about today, but you should be excited! Hell, I’ll even leave when he shows up- it’ll give you guys the chance to talk without making him feel crowded!”

“It’s…it’s not that, Tea.” Yugi paused, eyed his lunch, and pushed it to the side for the time being. “I am excited, it’s just...I’m not sure.”

He felt bad not being able to explain more, but Tea’s psychic powers came through in yet again. “And that’s totally fine, too,” she emphasized her point by pulling him in for a side-hug, giving his shoulder an encouraging rub. He leaned into the feeling, appreciating how many different ways she could tell him things would be okay. “There’s a lot we still don’t know about all of this. Today doesn’t have to be anything special. For all anybody knows, it could just be two guys bonding over their hair color.”

This made him smile, even earning her a half-laugh. “Thanks, Tea.” She was right. Today  _ wasn’t  _ special. When Atem had asked him about Friday, Yugi had reflexively taken it as something flirtatious. That didn’t mean it  _ had  _ to be. Maybe today could just be...casual.

“I’ll wait here until we see him show up,” Tea released him with a final pat on the shoulder. Yugi pulled his lunch back across the table, the heavy feeling in his stomach beginning to lighten up. “Then I’ll suddenly have an emergency and give you two some quality alone time.”

“What kind of emergency could someone have at lunch on a Friday that wouldn’t involve an ambulance or the police?” Yugi chuckled, asking only half-jokingly. He didn’t doubt Tea’s ability to come up with something, but it still begged the question.

“Oh, girls can have all kinds of emergencies,” she replied, completely seriously.

Yugi paused.

He waited for her to say she was joking, or for some elaboration.

Instead, she waved a hand airily in his direction, as though waving away the comment. “Anyway, when did this guy say he’d be here? We’re already five minutes deep.”

Yugi fought the mysterious chill threatening to run down his spine as he unwrapped the sandwich he’d thrown together earlier that morning. “Uhm,” He paused to chew and swallow. “I’m not sure. We didn’t really set a...time. Or a place. Or anything, for that matter.”

Tea rolled her eyes. “Great start.”

“Hey!”

“I’m kidding,” she giggled, whacking him on the shoulder with a little too much force. “Lighten up, airhead. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”

Another five minutes passed.

And then another. And another.

At about halfway through the lunch period, Yugi was starting to worry.

“I’m sure he’ll be here,” Tea reassured him for the tenth time. “That lunch line looks crazy. Maybe he just got held up.”

“I dunno, Tea; it’s not  _ that  _ bad-”

“Oh, come on, it’s  _ pretty  _ bad-”

“Not  _ twenty minutes’  _ worth of bad!”

“You’re being ridiculous!”

“I’m  _ not, _ Tea, I’m-”

“Hey.”

Yugi froze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> It's a bit more of a serious chapter this time, huh? I swear I'm not trying to turn this story angsty. It'll pick up in the next chapter, I promise!  
> Once again, if this chapter was offensive to anybody, PLEASE tell me. That was absolutely NOT my intention whatsoever, and if it hurt you in any way I want to offer a personal apology.  
> Also, a quick aside- I've noticed that my update schedule tends to be about one chapter every two to four months. I don't do this intentionally (I love this story!) but if you notice this story going untouched for a while, don't worry! It isn't abandoned! I fully plan to see it to the end and I'm not about to let it go stale when we're only just getting to the good parts. Still, though, as always, I want to try to get a bit more consistent with updating, so keep an eye out for shorter update times. I have a bit of a break coming up!  
> Speaking of chapters...I have to say, I'm really excited for the next two. Stay tuned!  
> As always, thanks for all the love and support :) You guys really keep me going!
> 
> (send some love on tumblr!: anonymous-lizard)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Decided to try my hand at a muti-chap fic for once :) I'm actually looking for a beta, though hopefully some of you got hooked already, hmm?  
> I originally didn't want to use the English names, but I realized I know zilch about Japan and the classroom/daily life setting, so we're going American for the sake of realism. Oh well~!  
> Updates won't be regular, at least not for now, but there shouldn't be too long a wait between uploads. I really enjoy writing this fic and know exactly where I want it to go, at least for now.  
> Relationships and characters will mostly be tagged as they appear, since I don't want to spam tags that aren't relevant. I'm also still tossing around some ideas for other characters and ships in this piece, so who knows?  
> As always, I love to hear what you guys think!
> 
> (send some love on tumblr!: anonymous-lizard)


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